Huntsman of Love
by Dark-Syaoran
Summary: Everyone knew that Huntress trainees were some of the most beautiful women around. But what about the Huntsmen? One in particular has caught their eye. Problem was, they didn't know his name or what he even truly looked like. Wait, how is that possible? This sounds a bit sketchy.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This story is not at all serious. Pure crack pipe. Longer note at the bottom.**

Since coming to Beacon and becoming a member of Team RWBY, Weiss had learned how to stay calm and focused in the face of insanity. It was a skill acquired over countless hours of living with three other girls, two of which were bundles of obnoxious sound at the best of times. Through grueling experience, their various distracting qualities could no longer faze her when she settled in to do her school work. If she hadn't learned to block them out then she would be failing all her classes for sure. No matter how loudly Ruby laughed, or how stupid Yang's jokes were, Weiss had reached a form of enlightenment when it came to her team and their bad habits. At least when she was studying.

But this... she couldn't handle this.

Blake was utterly silent bar the sound of turning pages. She was half submerged in her blanket as she read one of her many novels, so she wasn't the problem. Blake rarely was a problem, Weiss could freely admit. Unless it involved the White Fang. Then Blake was perhaps the biggest problem of them all. Weiss still hadn't forgiven Blake entirely for that - not that she was former White Fang, but that she'd run off and forced them to search for her for two days.

Simply unacceptable.

Ruby was sprawled across the floor, tinkering with _Crescent Rose_. The clicking sound of her ratchet socket wrench was constant as she tightened a bolt on the collapsed form of her monstrous weapon, but was not the target of Weiss' ever increasing ire. As a matter of fact, Weiss had become quite used to her team leader fiddling with her weapon. It was almost soothing. Reassuring.

No, it wasn't Ruby. And it certainly wasn't Zwei, the adorable little scamp asleep in the corner on a pile of pillows. It was Yang's incessant giggling and mumbling.

Weiss's fingers tightened around her pen, threatening to snap it in half.

The blonde girl had been at it for nearly an hour now, hunched over her Scroll, small moments of silence followed by the most depraved, lewd giggling the white haired Huntress-in-training had ever heard in her life. Occasionally it was accompanied by obscene mumbling of the most horrid sort. Wildly, Weiss glanced at her other two teammates and waited with baited breath.

As she thought, as soon as Yang let loose another fit of perverted laughter, Blake's bow twitched rapidly and her fingers tightened on her book, while Ruby paused in her work, the click of her wrench falling silent for a few seconds before resuming at a much more erratic pace.

She wasn't the only one bothered by the actions of their teammate.

She tried to refocus on her work, diligently reading the required passage in their assigned text book and scribbling notes, but another bout of poorly suppressed laughter had the Schnee heiress clenching her jaw as her pen jerked wildly across the page, ruining it. She would have to redo the entire page. Her perfectionist nature demanded nothing less. So much for her enlightened state of being.

"One, two, three, four," she counted softly, dimly aware that she was shaking. It stopped when she reached ten, taking a deep breath to steady herself.

Setting her pen aside with faux calm she turned away from the desk, facing Yang's bed, knees pressed together and posture ramrod straight. Opening her mouth, she flinched as the blonde began laughing once more, even adding a whispered, "Oh baby," to the end of it.

The line had been crossed. The camels back had broken. The proverbial house of cards had fallen.

"Yang Xiao Long," Weiss began, drawing everyone's attention at once with her menacing tone. "If you don't stop salivating and grunting like a dog in heat this instant," she warned, becoming increasingly agitated until she was all but screaming, "then I swear here and now I _will_ run you through with _Myrtenaster_! Do I make myself clear?"

Three sets of eyes blinked at her in surprise, before Yang smiled wildly, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" she snarled, reaching for her weapon, only for it to be wrestled away by Ruby who had leapt to her feet in a panic.

"Come on, guys," the younger girl implored, keeping the rapier out of reach. "Don't fight!"

"I can't stand it anymore!" Weiss shouted, clutching her head dramatically. Her eyes popped madly. "Put that Scroll away now!"

Yang smirked cockily, slipping down from her bunk. "Make me."

The blonde blinked in surprise as with a war cry the small heiress launched herself at her.

"H-Hey, what are you-" Yang exclaimed in alarm as the Schnee wrestled her to the ground in a surprising show of strength for such a tiny girl. "Hey! Watch where you are putting those hands-ahh!"

"Please stop!" Ruby implored as she tried to pry the two apart but only ended up getting involved, yelping as Weiss pulled her down by her combat skirt. The younger girl flailed wildly.

"Don't bully my sister!" Yang roared while placing Weiss in a headlock, only to squeal in shock as a hand pinched her rump. "O-Oi! Who did that?"

"Ah~!" Ruby called out as her forehead clashed with her sisters, dazing them both as Weiss bucked furiously to get out of the headlock. "Sorry!"

While they continued to roll around on the floor in a tangle of limbs, Blake had retrieved Yang's Scroll from where it had fallen on her bed. The standard video player was open.

"Oh," Blake made a soft sound of surprise. Somehow it was enough to draw the attention of her teammates despite their yelling. Three pairs of eyes zeroed in on her instantly. "Uh-" the faunus' cheeks flushed hotly. "W-What is this?"

To Yang's horror, Ruby was able to extract herself first from the three-woman scrum and was by Blake's side before she could react.

"No, Ruby!"

Ruby took one look at the screen and her eyes widened in surprise. Flushing in embarrassment, she stared at the scene playing out on the Scroll with avid interest.

"I'm surrounded by perverts," Weiss muttered in disgust as she untangled her legs from Yang's and went to see what all the fuss was about.

The video wasn't anything overly obscene. There was nothing that could be considered R-18, _yet_ , but-

Weiss felt her cheeks grow warm despite herself.

"W-What is this-this depravity?" she stammered as Yang joined them, half-heartedly trying to cover Ruby's eyes, only for her little sister to elbow her in the stomach in response.

The four girls watched as the scene played out. A man was facing away from the camera, the back of his head hidden out of shot. From what they could tell, he was of decent height and had a lithe, muscled build. His skin glistened as he showered, taut back muscles flexing as he reached around, lifting an arm up to scrub lightly at his side. Their eyes tracked the soap suds as one, watching as they flowed down over his hip and perfectly formed ass and further still across lean, powerful legs.

"He's turning around," Blake whispered urgently, Ruby and Weiss holding their breath in anticipation without realising it.

To their frustration, the camera zoomed in just as he turned, focusing on his well formed abs and impressive pectorals, stealing a much more precious prize from them. Ruby and Weiss sagged as they started breathing once more.

"They always do this," Yang complained. "Whoever is filming these videos is such a tease!"

"Videos?" Weiss questioned thickly.

They watched intently at the way the water followed the lines of his compact body. Reaching for a bottle of shampoo, his arms lifted as he applied it out of shot, stretching his torso beautifully to the entranced girls.

"Oh god," Ruby whispered stupidly.

"Is it good or is it good?" Yang bragged smugly.

"There are... more like this?" Blake questioned as the man leaned back under the spray to wash out the shampoo. They could see the foam running down over his shoulders and chest in the most delightful ways.

"Oh yeah," Yang said, grinning. "It isn't always showering. Sometimes he is working out or getting changed, or swimming. Oh, and get this - he goes to Beacon."

The rest of her team turned towards her. "What?" they all said in disbelief, before Weiss turned back to the video, eyes widening.

"Now that you mention it, that looks like the communal showers in the locker room!" She pointed at the screen. "Look at the tile pattern."

Blake and Ruby stared in shock.

"They never show his face, though," Yang grumbled. "Just if I knew who it was, I'd love to show him a good time."

"Hussy," Weiss muttered. Yang shoved her while Ruby frowned at her sister.

"Yaaaang," she whined.

"What?" the blonde asked defensively. "I mean, we were watching the same video, weren't we?"

"Where did you find these videos?" Blake asked curiously.

"They were uploaded on Beacon's network," Yang shrugged at their incredulous looks. "I think they were trying to upload to a private account but messed up, forgot to even set a password. I overheard an upperclassman talking about it and decided to check it out. I'm _so_ glad I did. What a stud."

Their attention was drawn back to the video as the water stopped running and the mystery Beacon student stepped out of the shower. Their eyes were glued to his ass as he walked, the way the muscles in his thighs and tight buttocks flexed driving them insane. He was just reaching into a locker for a towel when someone knocked on their door loudly.

Blake squawked in alarm at the interruption, flinging the Scroll away under a pillow in a practiced movement while Ruby exploded in a cloud of rose petals. Weiss flew into the chair at the desk to 'resume' her homework while Yang was left with answering the door.

"Thanks guys," Yang snarked as she pulled open the door. A familiar red-haired girl stood on the other side. "Oh - Pyrrha, what's up?"

"Hello," she answered cheerfully. "We were just wondering if you girls would like to join us. We are going to the library to study..." she trailed off.

"Pyrrha?" Yang asked in concern.

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha returned. "You look a little flustered."

"Oh, uh," Yang sputtered suddenly self-conscious. "Great! I'm great! Never better."

Pyrrha peered around Yang and spied Blake rapidly flicking through an upside down book and a tense Weiss scribbling with a pen. Ruby was nowhere in sight but the former championship fighter spied a scattered pile of rose petals on the ground.

Green eyes regarded the blonde in front of her. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Uh, no, no," Yang denied quickly. "We'd love to join you! Just give us a minute, okay?"

"Alright," Pyrrha managed before the door was closed in her face. "See you soon!" her voice called, muffled.

"Real smooth, Xiao Long," Weiss mocked.

"Yeah, yeah, I didn't see you volunteering to answer the door, Ice Queen."

The white haired girl scowled. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that!"

"Though I guess that video had all that ice melting," Yang leered at her suggestively. "Got you dripping?"

"Shut it!"

"It looks like he broke the _Weiss_ ," Yang continued her horrible humor unabashedly as Weiss flushed in anger. She looked ready to continue their wrestling match.

Ruby's head poked out of the bathroom, still looking a little rosy in the cheeks. "Who was it?"

"Pyrrha. She's invited us out to a study date and I agreed, so let's get moving," Yang paused, looking at Blake. "Uh, didn't know you could read that book upside down, partner."

Ruby giggled and Weiss managed to crack a smile at the embarrassed look the cat faunus wore. As they gathered their things, however, none of them were thinking about school work.

Weiss felt a little annoyed at herself. That video was probably made without consent, making it a gross invasion of privacy. The fact that everyone at Beacon seemingly had access to it - and more! - made it all the worse. A feeling of guilt filled her, knowing what it was like to have ones privacy disregarded like it was nothing. Being a member of the Schnee family ensured that her life was watched closely, not just by her father and the media, but by much more dangerous factions like the White Fang, wanting to strike out at their company.

But despite the guilt and shame, the thrill of excitement was still present.

Weiss would be the first to admit that her experience with boys was practically non-existent. Dinner dates arranged by her family, the horrible flirting of a certain blond idiot and that whole episode with Neptune at the school dance was the extent of it. She'd never seen a male in such a state of undress before and frankly, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, it lit a flame inside her.

Ruby on the other hand felt odd. She knew what porn was, even if her overprotective father tried everything in his power to shelter her. Yang _was_ her older sister after all and her father couldn't control everything that happened at Signal with the other girls. But all the pictures she had seen in her sisters magazines, all the video clips other girls at Signal had giggled over had done nothing for her. Frankly, she found it all stupid.

She would much rather look at photos of impressive weaponry and watch videos of famous weaponsmiths creating new and innovative mecha-shifting technology. She wanted to keep _Crescent Rose_ top of the line, after all. Grimm were her number one priority. So why did she have the urge to skip out on this study date and lock herself in the dorm, with nothing but her sisters Scroll?

Blake and Yang were of a similar mind about the whole thing, much less innocent than their teammates though they would never label themselves experts or overly experienced. The raven haired girl was intimately familiar with written smut. Novels and even the odd naughty comic. Videos of real people were a little outside her scope of expertise, however, and she'd only ever dated once before with horrible results. She couldn't help but be curious about the other videos Yang had mentioned.

"Show me where to access them?" Blake whispered to Yang as they approached the library. Her rowdy teammate grinned in response as they entered.

"Got a taste and want more, huh?" she teased. "Don't blame ya."

"Quiet," Weiss hissed while glancing around nervously. Talking about such a thing out in the open had her on edge. "Someone might hear you."

Yang rolled her eyes but said nothing as they were waved down by Team JNPR.

The rest of their week was spent preparing for the Vytal Festival, Beacon Academy and the other schools lending out their students as free labor. Because of the abundance of free time they had after completing their assigned duties with classes on hold and the meager homework set long completed during their study group session with JNPR, the girls of Team RWBY indulged in their new favourite past time.

While Blake, Ruby and Weiss traveled through the backlog of videos not seen by their newly opened eyes, Yang anticipated the upload of a brand new recording with baited breath. While not always the case, the uploader tended to load new content every Friday - and if not Friday, then usually by Sunday.

Her excitement made her feel a little silly, but it didn't stop her from feeling the way she did.

As she removed her boots and socks after a long day of 'volunteer work', she idly flicked through her Scroll while seated on her partners bed. She was in the process of removing her vest and top when she noticed a brand new entry appear after refreshing the page. She paused, hands poised to undo her black bra as she stared down at the screen resting by her hip.

Licking her lips, she smiled as she opened the file. Immediately the video player opened and began playing, the familiar and welcome sight of the mystery student greeting her eyes.

"Oh," Yang murmured in appreciation. "This is going to be good~"

He was outside and from what she could tell it was early morning, the light of the sun only just beginning to crest over the horizon, the surrounding grass covered in dew. Dressed in a pair of running shoes, a blue-grey beanie and white basketball shorts that rode dangerously low on his hips, he was in the process of stretching out. He was already covered in a fine sheen of sweat, letting her know that this wasn't the beginning of his work out.

Yang bit her lip as he lay down, knees pointing at the sky as he started his crunches. The camera zoomed in, carefully avoiding his face and focusing on the way his abs contracted beautifully with each sit-up. Lilac eyes traced frantically over the impressive definition his training had bestowed upon his obliques, the muscles rippling as he added a twist into the routine. He wasn't overdone like some Huntsmen she had seen, but he looked as if chiselled from stone.

Just thinking about running her fingers over the hard ridges had her mouth watering, her nipples tightening in hard peaks. Yang never thought of herself as easily excited but there was something about this guy that got her engine humming. Quickly undoing her bra, she tossed it aside, shimmying out of her tight shorts and belt-cape. She was left in nothing but a pair of plain black panties.

Grabbing her towel, she made her way into the bathroom, Scroll cradled like a precious gem. The unknown stud had swapped positions and was now performing picture perfect push-ups, the angle giving her a very nice view of his strong arms in action. Her breath caught as his face came tantalisingly close to revealing itself but no such luck, the camera man repositioning.

Hastily slipping out of her panties that were embarrassingly damp, she turned on the shower. The water spray hissed and the room was soon filled with steam.

"You naughty boy, look what you have me doing," she whispered. Setting up the screen so she could see it from her position, she was about to step under the spray when she paused. After a quick debate, she momentarily stopped the video before sending a text to her teammates.

"Now where were we?" she asked coyly, restarting the video and stepping into the shower.

On the other side of the school, Blake was incredibly cranky. She was hot after working in the sun all day and the vending machine was all out of her favourite drink. She also had to put up with the antics of Sun and Neptune for several hours, who were now discussing the blue-haired boy's apparent fear of water. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't tune them out.

It didn't help that Sun kept trying to include her in the conversation.

"I'm just saying," Sun said for the thousandth time. "If we just went to a public pool, you could get used to it, man! No waves, plenty of life guards, nothing to fear! Blake, back me up on this."

She stared at him evenly and said nothing, willing him to combust with the power of her mind. It wasn't that she disliked him. He was a good friend, helping her as he did during her difficult time with her team but she just wasn't in the mood.

"Dude, seriously, no," Neptune protested, feeling put out that his friend was bringing up something private and un-cool in front of a pretty girl. "I just-I can't. I just freak out and panic," he admitted shyly, shooting a quick look at Blake. She pretended not to notice.

At that moment, Blake's Scroll beeped. Snatching at the device hungrily, her eyes devoured the message, hoping for salvation. It was so much more. Amber eyes widened in surprise.

"Who is it?" Sun asked, curious.

Blake stiffened in alarm and gracefully sidestepped him when he tried to peek over her shoulder.

"Urgent business," she said quickly. "Have to go! Bye!"

"H-Hey-wait," the monkey faunus exclaimed but she was gone. "What was that about?"

Neptune shrugged.

Blake found a shadowed corner and ducked into it, watching as a group of students walked by unawares. Sufficiently hidden, she quickly accessed the video archive and pressed play. Her breathing became uneven as she watched with appreciative eyes the way his muscles bunched and curled as he went through his routine.

A small hum escaped her as he lay back, knees up and arms flat against the ground before lifting his hips. The camera followed the way he thrust his pelvis up off the ground, holding in a bridge, before slowly lowering back to the ground. As he continued with this particular exercise, she couldn't help but wonder what he would look like from above, her hips straddling his as he moved beneath her.

"Ah~" she groaned, cheeks flaring and bow twitching.

She was impressed with his core strength, his body betraying no fatigue as he continued to raise his hips over and over again, even when he started to pull one leg up off the ground and bring the knee to his chest.

She shifted, rubbing her thighs together in frustration. She'd never felt this way about anyone before. Admiration? Certainly - she had admired Adam, once upon a time, when she had foolishly believed that he truly wished for equality and not domination. But this primal feeling low in her gut? Want? Desire? The fact that it was some complete stranger she had only viewed on a screen made her feel stupid, but she couldn't deny what she felt.

"Who are you?" she whispered desperately.

"Blake?"

Sun had followed her as was his habit. She really should have expected it.

She moved without thought, aura flooding through her body as she jumped, planting a foot on the wall behind her and flipping over the blonde faunus. He saw none of this, her movement so swift it resembled no more than a blur, her semblance activating in her panic.

"Are you okay?" he asked, approaching the unmoving form of her shadow clone. He reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, only to flinch as it dissolved into nothingness. "What the hell?"

Ruby and Weiss were together when they received Yang's message, but they were also in the company of Jaune, Pyrrha and a whole host of other students helping to erect food stalls. The pair of girls glanced at each other in sync and checked their Scrolls.

"What's up?" Jaune asked Ruby when he noticed the strange expression on her face, wiping the sweat from his brow. He glanced at Weiss and realised the heiress wore a similar expression. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

Ruby shook her head quickly. "No, no! Nothing wrong. Nope. Nada. Perfectly normal. Yep, nothing strange here. Just a regular day. Hahaha~"

Jaune blinked as Ruby continued to laugh awkwardly. Pyrrha walked over with four bottles of water, passing Jaune one and tossing one to Ruby. The small girl halted her awkward assurances and fumbled with the bottle, only barely holding onto it and her Scroll.

"Where is Weiss?" the red-haired champion asked.

"What do you mean? She's right he...re..." Jaune trailed off, noticing that they were suddenly missing one of their own. "...uh..."

Ruby whipped around wildly, feeling betrayed. She looked down at her Scroll, hands trembling. She desired nothing more than to just run off and view the new video but she didn't want to be rude and leave her friends. Pyrrha and Jaune were always so nice to her.

She frowned. Apparently Weiss had no problems with it.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Pyrrha questioned in concern. Ruby stilled. "Maybe you should head back to the dorms. There isn't much more to do here - nothing we cannot handle, right Jaune?"

"Right," he gave her a kind smile. Ruby's hand tightened around the bottle of water, the plastic creaking. "You should have just said so. Go rest, we'll handle it," he then gave her a thumbs up, like a total dork.

Ruby flushed. She felt horrible even contemplating taking advantage, but, "U-Uh right. I-I'll see you guys later. Thanks!"

"No prob...lem..." Jaune replied lamely to a cascade of rose petals. He reached forward and caught a few, rubbing them between his thumb and finger. They were incredibly soft. He glanced at Pyrrha and handed her a petal. "Must be pretty cool being able to move so quick."

Pyrrha nodded.

They rested for a short while, finishing off their water before getting back to work. Jaune was carrying an assortment of tarps and poles near some trees when he heard a strange giggling sound, stopping him in his tracks. Listening intently, he soon heard it again.

"Jaune-"

"Shh!" he quickly shushed his partner, who had wandered over to help. Pyrrha quirked an eyebrow at him but followed his instruction, quieting down. The giggling started again. "Do you hear that?" he whispered.

Pyrrha nodded. As one, they both began creeping towards the tree line. It took them a few moments to locate where the sound was coming from, the crimson haired girl peering around a thick trunk and freezing. Jaune peered over her shoulder curiously, mouth parting in surprise.

He thought about calling out when he heard it - the most charming, adorable giggle he had ever heard.

The fact that this sound came from Weiss of all people and not Ruby rendered him completely mute.

"What am I doing?" they heard her mutter. "This is entirely inappropriate."

She may have said that it was inappropriate and yet it was followed by another tinkling laugh, her slender frame quivering. Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other, stunned.

"How shameless," she continued, sounding dazed. "Have you no consideration for those around you?" Her voice dropped so low they struggled to hear it, but they were able to make out the word 'unacceptable'.

"What do we do?" Pyrrha whispered urgently, pressing closer to Jaune so the Weiss couldn't hear her.

"How should I know?" he replied, panicked.

"Jaaaaaaaune-y!" a familiar voice bellowed. "Pyyyyyrrha! Where aaaaare you?"

Before they could pull back, Weiss spun around in shock. All three of them froze. As the seconds ticked by, Weiss' eyes widened in horror.

"Uh-" Jaune tried. "Hey."

"This isn't what it looks like!" the heiress shouted, leaping to her feet. Her hands were cupped around her Scroll possessively. She looked half deranged.

"Wh-What does it look like?" Pyrrha stuttered.

Weiss' mouth moved but no sound escaped.

"Were you watching something?" Jaune asked, flinching when she pinned him with a furious glare.

"What makes you say that?" she snapped.

The pair stared at her in disbelief.

"I-I mean - yes, I was!" she hastily corrected after a few seconds to revise.

"Oh?" Pyrrha questioned.

Before they could interrogate her any further, a sudden weight pressed down on Jaune from behind, causing him to fall on his partner. They landed in a heap.

"What are you guys doing?" Nora laughed from her position atop them. "Oh, hi Weiss!"

"Nora, get off," Jaune shouted, horrified. He glanced down at Pyrrha but she seemed unresponsive, sprawled beneath him. He quickly stood up, Nora draped over his shoulders limply like a dead animal. "Are you alright, Pyrrha?"

She stared up at him, dazed. "Uh - sure," she said dumbly, accepting his offered hand. He pulled her up with ease.

"Wat'cha guys doing?" Nora repeated, completely comfortable on top of her leader. "Ren sent me to look for you guys, he's hitting the showers."

"Nothing," Weiss assured sternly, having regained some measure of composure. "Nothing at all. I suggest we head back."

"If you're sure," Jaune said, taking a step back at the rabid look in the petite girls eyes.

"Very sure," she confirmed, stomping by them dramatically and swinging her arm as if to swat a fly. "Sure as could be!"

"That Weiss can sure be weird sometimes, don't you think?" Nora said after the heiress stormed away. Pyrrha and Jaune shared a look.

Later that night, the four members of Team RWBY gathered together for a very important meeting.

"I want to find this guy," Yang started as soon as Blake entered their room, not even giving her time to sit down. The blonde girl gestured at her Scroll and the paused video on display.

Weiss arched an eyebrow.

"Are you out of your mind?" she asked.

"Don't act like you aren't curious, Miss Priss." Yang returned fire immediately.

The smaller girl glared at her. "I'm perfectly fine in admitting it," she said, though her cheeks were a little rosy. "But how exactly are you going to accomplish this?"

"She's right," Blake agreed. "Where would we even start? We can't exactly ask people about it."

"Maybe we could find the person uploading them?" Ruby suggested meekly, looking a little unsettled.

"They'll be just as hard to find as our mystery student," Blake countered. "We don't even know if its a girl or another guy."

"It could be someone from the other schools, which widens the search considerably," Weiss opened her Scroll and started sorting through some files. "When was the first one uploaded, Yang? Do you remember?"

"It was after Blake ran off with Sun," Yang replied, making it sound like something it wasn't.

"I didn't run off with Sun!" Blake glared at her partner in outrage.

"After Blake ran off with Sun?" Weiss confirmed, getting a nod from Yang, "So some of the students had already arrived, then. This makes it much more difficult."

"I didn't run off with Sun," Blake repeated angrily, turning on the heiress. Yang and Weiss shared an amused look, while Ruby covered her mouth to hide her grin. "If you recall, the reason I-"

"Ah, ah," Weiss held up a hand, nose in the air snootily. "Don't want to hear it."

Blake fumed as they continued talking over her.

"So what _do_ we know?" Ruby asked.

"Whoever it is has light hair," Weiss put forth, when no one else said anything. Despite her speaking out against the probability of finding this man, it seemed she had thought of it herself at some point.

"What?"

Weiss frowned at her partner. "His body hair is light. It could be blond or something more exotic like grey, silver or-"

"White," Yang leered at Weiss' hair. "Don't have a brother around, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Yang looked startled at the revelation, as did Ruby. Blake didn't react as she already knew, but not because Weiss had told her. "He isn't here you idiot. He is back in Atlas and younger than Ruby."

"Getting back on track," she continued. "His hair colour narrows it down and his skin is also light, if a little tanned."

"Been working out in the sun," Yang said approvingly.

Weiss coughed. "Yes, well, it eliminates anyone with dark hair or dark skin. Unless they dye their hair," she conceded.

"They are tall," Ruby supplied, playing with her fingers. "But not like Velvet's partner. That is a little too tall."

"He is slender," Blake added her own observation. "Not quite skinny, but he isn't at all stocky."

"Cardin's out, then," Yang joked, drawing a distasteful grimace from the former White Fang member.

"If I thought for even a moment that it could be him, I think I'd throw myself out the window and be done with it."

The others couldn't exactly disagree with her.

"Could he be a faunus?" Ruby asked. Yang shrugged while Blake and Weiss seemed to consider it for a moment.

"If he is, then whatever animal traits he has are either on his face or head," Weiss said. "In some of the videos, we saw his head but he was wearing a beanie. I didn't see any hard protuberances, so no horns or antlers."

"Protuberances?" Yang snorted in laughter.

"He might have ears like Blake, though," Ruby mentioned, ignoring Yang with all the skill of a little sister. "You could hide them under a beanie like Blake hides hers under a bow."

"What if he's, you know," Yang gestured lewdly at her crotch, "he could be a horse faunus or something."

Blake glared at Yang. "That isn't how it works."

"How do you know that, kitty cat?"

Blake looked ready to murder her.

"Yaaaang, why," Ruby moaned, rubbing her face while Weiss tsked in disapproval. The blonde just laughed in response.

"So how do we go about this?" Blake asked the all important question while giving her partner the stink eye.

"We will compile a list of likely candidates," Weiss moved over to her desk and pulled out a pen and note pad. She quickly began writing down details. "And then-"

"We follow them!" Yang finished, smiling.

"So we stalk them," Blake confirmed, lip curling a little.

"Stalk, follow, whatever you prefer."

"We can also check out the areas from the videos," Weiss spoke up, sounding a little peeved at being in any way associated with stalking. "I recognise the area of campus where he likes to train. It is secluded, you can't be seen from any of the buildings."

"Not doing the locker room," Ruby quickly said raising her hand childishly, Yang hastily following suit. Blake stared at them in shock.

"I wouldn't mind doing it," Yang confessed with a smirk. "But I don't want people to think I'm some sort of pervert when they see me there, day after day, you know?"

Blake was about to retort when there was a dull thump, followed by the sound of a door slamming. All of them jumped in alarm, taken aback at the sudden noise. They waited with baited breath, straining their ears to hear anything else.

"What was that?" Ruby asked when it remained silent. The youngest girl moved over to their door and peeked out into the hallway. After a moment, she returned to their group looking concerned.

"Team JNPR's door is broken," she reported worriedly. Team RWBY shared a few uncertain glances. While their own team could be considered rowdy or a little odd, JNPR was somehow a whole magnitude more weirder. Though it mostly stemmed from one particular member, Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren could be accused of being insane by association with the way they seemingly put up with Nora's antics without much issue, even getting caught up and joining in on occasion.

"I don't even want to know," Weiss said finally, returning her attention to the notepad. "So, lets start with our year - Cardin is out. His team, on the other hand..."

Yang started playing with her hair. "Dove and Sky have the wrong sort of hair, and Russel doesn't have the right build."

"It isn't like we really thought it was them," Blake commented at the disgruntled look on her partners face.

"Having to think of those idiots in that way is somehow annoying, though."

"Ren has black hair and Jaune is... well-" Ruby hesitated.

"Jaune is Jaune," Weiss concluded when Ruby failed to continue, rolling her eyes in dismissal. Ruby pouted at how mean that sounded but couldn't exactly fault her for it, either. "Who else is there?"

In the end, they concluded that it was either someone in the second year and above, or one of the many male students from Haven, Shade or Atlas.

"We already know what Sun looks like without a shirt," Yang joked, wiggling her eyebrows in an exaggerated manner at her partner. Blake scoffed. "He doesn't exactly hide those abs."

"What about Neptune?" Weiss asked aloud, trying not to sound hopeful.

Yang smirked. "I think we've found our first target. Weiss can take point on this one."

The heiress flushed.

Their second target was Mercury.

They didn't know much about him and didn't really see him around much either. The most notable thing they all remembered about him was the time he volunteered to spar against Pyrrha, then surrendered halfway through their bout.

"He is pretty hot," Yang admitted.

He also had a pretty cool partner.

"I've been hanging out with Emerald occasionally," Ruby said. "She's really nice."

"That's your in," Yang nodded in approval. "So, Blake will keep an eye on the showers while I'll hit the gym. It won't be unusual for me to be there. Sounds like a plan."

The following morning Ruby woke up bright and early, dressing with a powerful sense of determination. Closing the door quietly, she gave the unhinged door of Team JNPR a quick glance before zipping down the hall in a stream of rose petals. Camping outside the Haven representatives dorm, she called upon all her will power to remain still and silent.

It wasn't long before Emerald and Mercury appeared, though they weren't alone. Their other teammate was with them, a beautiful young woman with long black hair and alluring amber eyes. She wasn't sure why but Ruby always felt herself becoming nervous around her. Their fourth teammate was nowhere to be seen - not that Ruby had ever seen them before. They were a complete mystery.

The three were talking but much too quietly for Ruby to overhear. Following the trio was difficult, as it seemed like they had no particular destination in mind but she was a master of stealth and wicked cunning, she wasn't about to let them escape her! They continued wandering the halls at random until finally they decided on a destination and entered the cafeteria.

"Ruby,"

"Urk!"

She would have screamed in fright if she hadn't already swallowed her tongue. Emerald gave her a bemused look. The olive skinned girl had been waiting for her just inside the cafeteria. Busted!

"What are you doing?" she asked, sounding amused. "You've been following us for awhile - is something the matter?"

Ruby felt her face burn hotly.

"Uh, I was just-" she wracked her brain furiously. "-wanted to hang out, haha, silly me, you know how awkward I can be. But you guys looked busy so I should get going, okay, cya, bye~"

Emerald gripped her shoulder firmly before she could dash off. Ruby wanted to cry.

"Hey, we can still hang. Come on," the girl smiled, the picture of friendliness. "We're over here."

Ruby screamed internally as the older girl dragged her towards her doom.

Meanwhile, Yang eyed the other occupants of the gym as she went through her stretches, working her shoulders and sides before sitting down, legs spread and leaning forward so her chest bumped the ground. The likelihood that she'd find this mysterious guy working out was pretty slim - he seemed to work out at all hours, even night - but if he was here this morning, she wasn't going to miss it. She could get lucky, right?

"Woah, look at her go!"

Was someone checking her out? Yang smiled coyly before realising the two students from Atlas were not looking her way. Not at all.

"Holy crap," one of them exclaimed in answer. "She must be benching four times her weight, easy."

"Five, actually," a familiar voice called. "We can hear you, by the way."

Yang turned her head, smiling. The two Atlas students hurried away in embarrassment.

"Hey Ren, spotting for Nora again?"

Her black haired classmate gave an exaggerated sigh but was smiling, arms at the ready should anything go wrong. Yang watched with a little awe as Nora continued to lift, form impeccable as her arms flexed powerfully.

It was quite the sight seeing such a small girl bench press what even other larger Huntsmen would struggle with. Even though technically Yang could match and even surpass her strength in a burst with her Semblance, she couldn't come anywhere near maintaining that level of power like Nora could. Something she had learned very quickly when trying to arm wrestle against her. That had stung her pride a bit. One or two rounds were okay, but any more and it felt like she'd need a new arm.

"Better to be safe than sorry," Ren answered when she approached. "She seems unusually stressed about something and keen to work off her frustrations."

Nora finished her rep before letting the bar slam back into the saddles with a bang, sitting up and reaching for her towel. Yang noticed immediately the lack of smile or her usual carefree look. If anything she looked irritated at their presence.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," she snapped at Ren, wiping her face and shoulders.

"So are you going to tell me what the matter is?" he asked dryly.

Nora glowered at him before turning to Yang.

"Hey Yang, wanna spar? No weapons."

On a normal day Yang would jump at the opportunity but she was meant to be on the look out for her mystery guy. "Uh," her reluctance had nothing to do with the fact that Nora looked ready to tear something apart with her bare hands. It wasn't that at all. "I'm good, thanks."

The ginger haired girl looked disappointed.

"Does it have something to do with why our door is broken?" Ren continued to needle.

"Jaune told you that was an accident," Nora grunted. "Would you give it a rest already!"

The pair watched as she marched over to the free weights without another word and started pumping iron. Yang had never seen the smaller girl look so pissy in the entire time she'd known her.

Pissy was more Weiss' angle.

"Did something happen?"

Ren shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"We heard a bang last night. Ruby said your guys door was broken and I saw it this morning when I left."

"An accident - or so Jaune and Nora would have us believe. Pyrrha and I weren't there at the time. Apparently they were roughhousing and well, you know how Nora can be sometimes. Forgets her own strength."

Yang had to hold back a laugh when a student from another school got too close and Nora scared them off with a gnash of teeth, arms pumping without missing a beat.

"You don't believe them?"

He shrugged again. "It doesn't explain why she is in such a foul mood. She skipped breakfast - a bad sign if there ever was one."

No kidding. Nora could put food away like no one she had ever seen. Perhaps only Ruby when it came to cookies and strawberries. Nora's stomach was like a black hole.

"Where are your other teammates, anyway?" she gave the gym a quick scan but couldn't see Pyrrha's eye catching hair or her goofball partner.

"Pyrrha wanted some help perfecting a technique. They left earlier this morning so they are probably hitting the showers by now."

Yang couldn't help the little smirk that formed.

When Ren noticed her, she said unhelpfully, "I think Blake is over that way."

Blake was indeed over that way.

She liked to think that she was pretty skilled when it came to staying unseen or unnoticed. Not that the locker room provided the greatest cover to keep hidden. However, as quiet and introverted as she was, people often overlooked her even when she was in plain sight.

She was just that type of person.

Unfortunately for her, friends weren't included in those that tended to overlook her presence. If that were the case, Blake may have been able to avoid some of the more aggravating situations Yang had pulled her into. That is why she was barely in the door when a familiar face met her eye, destroying any chance of subterfuge.

It immediately put her on edge.

"Blake," Jaune said in surprise, hair damp from a recent shower. He was in the process of putting on his shoes, one leg pulled up onto the bench he was seated on. "Morning."

"Morning," she answered after a moment of irrational panic. It was stupid but for a moment she felt for certain Jaune knew exactly why she was there. Her cheeks reddened. It was impossible, she knew, but suddenly she was filled with nerves. She tried to come up with something to say but drew a blank, resulting in her standing around awkwardly rubbing her arm while he tied his shoelaces.

"What's up?" he asked when she did nothing but stare at him, a look of concern on his face, "is something wrong?"

"What? No," Blake shook her head. "Nothing is wrong. Why would you think something is wrong?"

"You look unwell," he rose from the bench and approached her, causing her cheeks to darken further. She had to fight all her instincts to take a step back like a guilty child. "Blake?"

For a scant moment in time, Blake was certain he was going to reach for her forehead and test her temperature with his palm. Then the moment passed and she remembered this wasn't one of her romance novels. Her cheeks burned hotter.

"Really, it's nothing," she said hastily. "I've just come for a shower. Nothing more."

She hoped he couldn't smell her shampoo. That would be embarrassing. Though less than admitting she was searching for a guy she didn't know, based on how his body looked. Put like that, she really did sound like a huge pervert.

Jaune nodded slowly. "Yang holding you up?"

"What?"

"Ruby told me Yang takes forever in the bathroom. All that hair care."

Blake blinked, latching onto the lifeline he had unwittingly provided. "Yes. It can be a bit aggravating." She then frowned. "Wait, why is Ruby sharing those sorts of details about Yang?"

The blond boy laughed. "We were just sharing stories about our sisters."

"I didn't know you had any sisters," she admitted. It made her feel a little bad - in all honestly, she didn't know all that much about Jaune at all. Ruby thought he was the best friend ever while Weiss would complain about what an idiot he was whenever he tried to flirt with her. Yang was somewhere in the middle.

"More than I can count sometimes," he joked. "But I think there are about seven of them."

Blake opened her mouth and then closed it again.

Jaune looked amused at her reaction. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

She shook her head. "That sounds rough."

Being an only child, it was a struggle to imagine one sibling, let alone seven of them. She pictured seven Yang's and promptly banished the thought before she suffered brain damage. It was simply that horrifying to contemplate.

"What are you doing here so early, anyway?" she asked. "Does Nora take forever in the shower as well?"

He gained an odd look at the mention of Nora but after a moment smiled, "Nothing like that. Pyrrha wanted to get in some early morning training. Grappling, mostly. Submissions. I won't always have my sword and shield."

"Oh?"

"My neck felt the brunt of it," he admitted with a chuckle, tilting his head to the side and wincing at the strain. He rubbed his shoulder. "She was showing me how to apply a triangle choke from a standing position. Not the most comfortable hold to be in, even with a pretty girl."

Blake grinned.

"Jaune?" a familiar voice called, "are you still - oh, hello Blake!"

Pyrrha emerged in nothing but a towel, hair dripping wet across her toned shoulders. She looked a bit disappointed.

"Well," Jaune said tightly, dazed at the sight of his partner. Blake laughed. "I'll leave you ladies to it. Nice talking to you, Blake."

He all but rushed from the room before she could reply. Pyrrha and Blake shared an amused look.

"Shower?" Pyrrha asked.

"Right, shower," Blake said to maintain her cover. Luckily her locker was stocked with the appropriate items. Green eyes followed her as she hurried away.

The next few days followed a similar theme.

Between Ruby's horrible attempts at trying to socialize with Emerald's team and Blake having to take several showers a day to avoid the suspicions of her classmates(unsuccessfully), in the end it was Weiss who contributed first to their little operation.

"Neptune is out," she declared on the third morning.

"What?" Yang asked as rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Weiss was dressed neatly in her school uniform, white hair beautifully brushed until it looked like a curtain of quicksilver hanging from her side tail. Meanwhile Ruby's hair looked like a birds nest, her face pouting adorably at being woken up so early while Blake looked almost catatonic, "Weiss, do you know how early it is?"

"Do you?" the heiress returned haughtily.

"Too damn early," Yang snapped back. Then she paused. "Wait a minute, what do you mean Neptune is out?"

Weiss gave her a smug look while Ruby perked up. Blake continued to teeter dangerously towards the floor but would catch herself at the last moment. Each time her head would snap up in alarm, eyes wide only for them to droop comically. It was made all the more adorable by the fact that her ribbon had come free sometime in the night, freeing her cat ears.

"It is just as I said. Neptune is not the one we seek."

Yang arched an eyebrow. "How did you find out?" She then eyed her uniform. "Don't tell me you snuck into their room? Wow, Weiss, you are surprisingly hardcore."

Weiss flicked her hair over her shoulder in a move so practiced it made Yang snicker. "As if I would be so vulgar. I have a little more class than that, thank you very much."

"And yet here we are," Yang joked, though it wasn't really a joke at all. All four of them were involved in something that was about as classless as you could get.

Ruby piped up. "So, how'd you figure it out?"

Weiss presented her Scroll.

Yang, Ruby and a somewhat more alert Blake leaned in for a better look.

It was a picture of Neptune, shirtless - and trouserless, handcuffed to a bed. While the blue haired boy had a decent figure, it wasn't in the same league as their mystery student.

"What the hell is this?" Yang said after a moment of shocked silence. "Weiss, _what did you do?_ "

"I did nothing. This was taken at Haven."

"How did you get this?" Blake asked through a yawn. She then blinked. "Surely Sun didn't send you that picture. He is a lot of things but Neptune is his best friend."

"It wasn't Sun. Or at least, I don't think it was," Weiss seemed to be seriously contemplating the matter. "Anyway, the who isn't important. The how is simple - I offered considerable amounts of money."

Blake looked at Weiss with awe and respect. "You are much more dangerous than you appear, I don't know how we missed it."

Weiss glared at the cat faunus.

Yang tapped her chin idly. "So, what, you just made a thread on some forum somewhere offering cash for any information on Neptune?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes, that is exactly what I did."

A startled laugh escaped Yang. "Damn. What is even going on in this picture, anyway? The room looks trashed."

The floor was littered with plastic cups and streamers, while the curtains hung on by a thread, almost torn completely free. The walls were plastered with confetti and some sort of white foam whose origins they couldn't fathom.

"Sources tell me it was a private rendezvous gone wrong."

"It looks like a house party. You're surprisingly calm about this," Yang observed.

Weiss pursed her lips. "Apparently he is quite the ladies man - or at least, he tries to be. He has somewhat of a reputation at Haven, so they say."

She didn't look upset so much as disappointed.

"This was all before he met you, though," Ruby tried tentatively, knowing how much it meant to Weiss.

"Yes," Weiss nodded and then put it behind her, "Well, there you have it. One down."

It was clear she didn't want to talk about it any further.

With no chance of returning to sleep, they started preparing themselves for the day. Even with Yang hogging the hot water and Blake barely functioning, they still arrived at the cafeteria before most others. Surprisingly, Team JNPR was already there and halfway into their breakfast.

Nora waved them over enthusiastically.

"She's in a better mood this morning," Yang said quietly as she placed her tray down and slid in next to Ren. Ruby, Blake and Weiss took their seats across from her. "You finally cheer her up?"

Ren shook his head. "I can't claim the credit for this one, unfortunately. Jaune let her practice some wrestling moves on him last night. When she returned, she was back to normal."

Yang grimaced. "I'm surprised he is still in one piece."

Ren couldn't blame her. Nora's poor mood had persisted for days until their team leader had stepped in. Whatever the two had shared during their training session was enough to brighten her outlook considerably.

"He might not look it but Jaune is very dependable."

Blake rubbed her chin in thought.

"And has a spine made out of steel," Yang joked.

"What'cha looking at?" Ruby asked, leaning over Jaune's shoulder and peering down at the magazine spread out before him and his partner. "Oooh, are you looking for a new weapon? Can I help? Can I?"

Jaune chuckled. "Nothing like that. Pyrrha is thinking about modifying her weapon. We're just having a look at some catalogues."

Ruby nearly squealed and forced her way between the pair in her excitement.

"Woah, Ruby," Jaune yelped in alarm as the small girl was practically in his lap, pouring over the magazine without a care in the world for how it looked. He shot a nervous glance at Yang but she was talking to Ren and hadn't noticed.

"What modifications are you looking to make?" Weiss inquired politely as she buttered a piece of toast.

As Pyrrha and Weiss discussed the pros and cons of a revolving dust chamber in a projectile weapon, Sun and Neptune appeared, trays laden with breakfast food.

"Hey Blake," Sun greeted happily, taking one of the spare chairs at the end of the table. He swiftly peeled a banana and almost inhaled it with how fast it disappeared.

Blake hummed disinterestedly.

"Hey Snow Angel," Neptune grinned as he popped a grape into his mouth. Yang was suddenly very interested in the sudden arrivals, facing them with a broad smile.

Weiss paused in her explanation about chamber sizes for dust containment to arch an eyebrow at the blue haired boy. Pyrrha blinked at the familiar cold look the heiress usually projected at her partner aimed at someone else.

"Neptune," she greeted coolly. "Good morning."

Everyone at the table noticed the dismissive tone, even Nora who had been busily tapping away at her Scroll. Everyone but Neptune.

"So, I was thinking," he began oblivious of the danger, "that we could hang out together sometime."

"Oh?"

"I haven't seen much of Vale. You could show me around, show me all the good spots."

Weiss made a show of thinking it over. "Okay."

Neptune grinned widely. "Sweet."

"Jaune," Weiss suddenly said, turning to the blond. "Would you like to come visit Vale with us?"

Everyone stared.

There was a long moment of silence before Jaune finally said, "What?"

Weiss rolled her eyes in typical Weiss fashion. "I asked if you'd like to accompany us to Vale?"

"Uh," Neptune finally snapped out of his stupor and tried to interject but Weiss continued to speak before he could so much as utter more than a single syllable.

"Ren," Weiss turned to the raven haired boy. He was paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth. "Would you also like to accompany us?"

Then she turned to the rest of JNPR. "Pyrrha, Nora, you are also invited."

The two girls looked startled while Ren and Jaune shared a look.

"Wait, I meant-"

"My team will be coming, of course," Weiss eyed Ruby, Yang and Blake as Neptune floundered. They looked a mixture of surprise for Ruby, awe from Yang and amusement from Blake. "Sun can come too - and the rest of your team. I would very much like to meet them. I'm sure we would have loads to talk about."

She smiled with a few too many teeth.

And with that, apparently they were all going out together some time. Neptune looked completely confused.

Later that same day, Ruby unintentionally stumbled across Emerald and Cinder. There was a third girl with them, someone Ruby had never met before. She was short - shorter than even Weiss or Nora, petite with bright green eyes and black hair in twintails. Ruby paused in the middle of the courtyard.

Maybe she could try again.

They were acting suspiciously, huddled together on one of the many benches near the gardens. Mercury was no where in sight. The young girl hesitated for a moment before making a decision.

"Uh, hey guys - what are you-WOAH!" Ruby yelped as an olive arm reached out and snagged her around the neck, reeling her in.

"Ruby," Emerald said happily. "Friend. Pal."

"Uh, haha, that's me," Ruby glanced at the other two. Cinder looked disinterested while the unnamed girl was sporting a tiny grin that was equal parts welcoming and sly. "What's up?"

Emerald thrust her Scroll in her face, making Ruby go cross eyed.

"We were just wondering-"

"I was wondering nothing of the sort," Cinder interrupted sharply. Her eyes narrowed at Emerald. "Please don't include me in this stupidity."

The twintail girl made a 'yeah right' face and giggled silently. Cinder looked ready to hit her and may have tried but the small girl twirled away and around them without prompting. The movement was swift and graceful like a dancer. It reminded Ruby a little of Weiss.

"Right, so, we were wondering if you knew this guy," Emerald continued after a few moments. Ruby's eyes focused on the screen, surprised to see it was their mystery man in one of his familiar compromising positions.

Ruby felt her mouth go dry.

His muscles were slick with sweat as he pulled his body weight up to the bar and down again, repeating the process every few seconds. His body was perfectly still, abs tight and unyielding as his shoulders and arms flexed smoothly. He looked like a machine, not a single sign of fatigue or strain. A few times his face came tantalizingly close to revealing itself but it never would.

Ruby knew. She'd watched this particular video many times.

She took a steadying breath. "So this isn't Mercury then?"

Three pairs of eyes stared at her.

"Mercury?" Emerald questioned in disgust. "What are you-oh, you thought-so that's why you've been hanging around lately."

Ruby felt her cheeks go red.

No Name obviously found the whole thing hilarious and was laughing up a storm, though no sound escaped her lips which was a little disturbing. Cinder arched an eyebrow and looked down at her which only made Ruby feel worse.

She did the only thing she could think of and pouted.

"Trust me," Emerald pat her on the shoulder. "That isn't my stupid partner. If nothing else, he doesn't have legs like this."

Cinder and Emerald shared a look above her head.

"Yes, it is as Emerald says," Cinder looked away for a moment before asking, to the surprise of everyone present, "So you do not know who he is?"

Apparently she was very much involved in this stupidity.

"Uh, no. No one does, I think. The videos didn't start until students from the other schools started turning up for the festival, so my team thought maybe..."

Well, the rest didn't need to be said.

"Well, if you do figure it out, you'll share, won't you?" Emerald pulled her in close so their noses nearly bumped. Ruby had never noticed before but her red eyes were rather creepy. Nothing at all like Yang's when she was angry. "Won't you?"

"S-Sure."

The twintail girl winked.

As soon as she got away from the crazy foreign team, she made a beeline for her dorm. Luckily the rest of her team was there and she shared what she'd discovered.

"Not Mercury, huh?" Yang was lazily throwing a ball up and down as she lay on the carpeted floor. "We are zero for two, ladies. I haven't found our hunk at the gym, either. Not exactly detectives, are we?"

"It was always a long shot," Weiss reasoned from her bed. "I would have been surprised if it were so easy. We didn't have much to go on."

"I'm pretty sure most of the student body thinks I'm up to something sketchy," Blake muttered sourly. Her face was half buried in her pillow. "I'm not going back to the locker room and you can't make me."

Yang laughed.

"It isn't funny! Worse, I keep running into Pyrrha and Jaune! They are too nice to say anything but I know they're thinking it!"

"Thinking what?"

"Something! Something bad!"

Yang just laughed harder and received a pillow in the face for her trouble. Her ball bounced off it and rolled away. Before she could retaliate and turn it into a full fledged Team RWBY pillow fight any boy would pay to see, Weiss made a pleased sound.

"There is a new video."

That got their attention.

Ruby, Yang and Blake crowded around the heiress.

"Hey!" she called out as they peered over her shoulders. As small as she was, it felt a little claustrophobic. "Use your own Scrolls!"

"Cmon Weiss, play the video," Ruby said while bouncing up and down against her side. "Cmon, cmon."

"Cut it out! Ah - fine. Just move a bit."

"They're a little early this week," Yang mused as Weiss started the video.

The four girls watched eagerly as their mystery man stood poised before a body length mirror with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. The angle meant that like usual, even with the reflection, his face was hidden from view, but it allowed them an almost full show of his body, front and back.

He seemed to be almost admiring himself, turning from side to side as he run his hands across his chest and washboard abs, testing their firmness. He even knocked his knuckles against them before striking a pose like that of a body builder, muscles tense and full.

Ruby giggled while Yang cracked a smile.

Apparently he thought it was funny as well, as they saw his body shake with mirth as he released the pose. And then to their shock, he tossed aside his towel with a flourish. The familiar ass with its cute little dimples greeted their eyes, but that wasn't the only thing.

"Oh my god," Blake whispered hoarsely.

In the reflection of the mirror was the final prize.

"Oh my," Weiss choked out. She looked ready to pass out, porcelain cheeks flushed a deep red.

Yang and Ruby were rendered speechless.

The camera shifted and for a moment the four girls stared in disbelief. And then he turned swiftly. Their breath caught as it swung into view but at that precise moment the camera jerked wildly, stealing from them their precious view and replacing it with that of the carpet.

The video come to an abrupt end soon after.

Team RWBY sat in silence.

Ruby vigorously rubbed her burning cheeks, "Did you guys-I mean, I saw-you know?" Her eyes squinted in embarrassment.

"Yeah, sis," Yang said with a big stupid grin. "Yeah."

"Very healthy," Blake had a silly little grin on her face.

"He caught them."

The three of them turned to Weiss.

She stared back at them with wide eyes, cheeks still red from the unexpected reveal.

"He caught them!" she repeated frantically as they minds struggled to reboot. "At the end! He turned and caught them!"

"Oh shit," Yang said after a moment. "But if he caught them, then that means..." she trailed off, looking confused. "They still uploaded the video. Anyone else find that odd?"

Blake nodded slowly and looked guilty as she said, "This sort of thing would get you in a lot of trouble and yet they are obviously still here at Beacon. I haven't heard about anyone getting expelled, have you guys?"

They shook their heads.

"It would be big news if someone did, right?" Ruby asked. "There is no way they'd be able to keep that a secret."

"Even if it was someone from another school, it would have gotten out by now," Weiss said assuredly as she pulled up the school message board on her Scroll. The hottest topics made no mention of any expulsion though a few did reference the videos, though as subtle as possible as not to alert the teachers. Code words and abbreviations filled the screen as she swiped by. "Something like this wouldn't stay a secret for long, you're right. Which means that most likely there has been no punishment."

Yang then asked the million lien question.

"What does that mean?"

Had he not taken the issue to the teachers? It wasn't just a breach of school rules, some of the videos actually broke the law. If someone had been taping one of them secretly while they showered or changed? Forget the professors, they'd go straight to the police - maybe after snapping them in half first.

But that hadn't happened here. Why not?

The four let out small screams of alarm at the sudden firm knock on their door. Sharing embarrassed and uncertain looks, Blake moved first and answered. Pyrrha stood on the other side with a suspicious look on her face. It was all too similar to the last time she had visited Team RWBY's room.

"Were those screams I just heard?" she questioned immediately before Blake could offer a greeting.

"What?" the cat faunus attempted a surprised look and failed. "Of course not. We were just talking."

A finely sculpted eyebrow arched as she scanned the room, looking for some unseen assailant. When all she found were precarious bunk beds and poster covered walls, she focused on her friends. Whenever she tried to meet any of their eyes, they flittered away nervously. Along with their flushed cheeks and the way they fidgeted if her eyes lingered too long, it painted a very suspect picture.

"Riiiight," she said slowly, curiosity warring with the reason she was here. "So, we were talking with Team SSSN and decided we'd all go down into Vale tomorrow - if that is okay with Weiss, of course."

Every eye in the room turned to the heiress.

"Why are you asking me?" she asked, startled at the sudden attention.

"It was your idea, yes? You invited us out," Pyrrha peered at her closely with an air of concern. "Are you sure everything is fine? It was only this morning, surely you haven't forgotten. Or were you hoping for a specific day?"

"Everything is fine! Perfectly fine, in fact," Weiss deflected with haste. Straightening up, she placed one hand on her hip and tried for a haughty countenance. "And no, tomorrow is as good a day as any. I approve. I need to grill-I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of their team."

The look on her face dared them to call her out on her slip.

"I'm good with it," Yang said when Pyrrha turned her way.

"I have nothing planned," Blake added.

Ruby just beamed and nodded.

"Right, well, I'll let everyone know - does eight in the morning sound good?"

The four nodded enthusiastically.

Pyrrha hesitated, giving each of them one more searching look.

"See you in the morning," she finally said before closing the door.

Team RWBY sagged as one.

The rest of the evening was filled with further speculation and before they knew it, the sun dawned bright and early, rousing them from their sleep. Ruby rushed into the shower before her sister, the blonde growling as she got a face full of rose petals as the door slammed shut.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted but received nothing but giggling in return. "Get your little butt out here!"

Weiss hummed as she run her brush carefully through her hair, having already showered and dressed in a cute denim skirt and white blouse combo. Not exactly the sort of clothes her father would approve of, they were much too casual. Essentially, they were perfect. The two sisters continued arguing as she pulled her hair into its trademark side-tail before sliding her dainty feet into a pair of fashionable boots.

"Urgh," Blake muttered as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. Her ribbon had come loose again and her ears were twitching adorably each time Yang yelled or banged on the door. Weiss had to hide a smile at the sight as she slipped her hairpin tiara into her hair and selected a pair of snowflake earrings.

"We don't have much time," Weiss said conversationally as Blake shuffled out of bed like the walking dead. A small grin threatened to twist her lips as she said, "Yang hasn't showered yet."

The bathroom door opened and Ruby Rose appeared, fresh and pure, wrapped in a fluffy towel. Yang attempted to shoulder by her sister but she was barely through the door before a black ribbon looped around her waist. With a mighty heave, Blake tossed her partner across the room with a shout before dashing into the bathroom, the door slamming shut and locking before the blonde could regain her footing.

"Blake!" Yang hollered angrily. Ruby jumped out of the way as her sister resumed pounding on the door. "You sneaky little-"

"Ruby," Weiss greeted while ignoring the sounds of wood threatening to splinter. "Good morning."

"Morning," Ruby chirped happily as she skipped over to her bed while discarding her towel. The heiress had to stop herself from scolding her partner for leaving it in a heap in the middle of the room. Thankfully, the younger girl was already wearing underwear. Even if they were all girls, Weiss didn't appreciate being flashed so casually.

...maybe if it was their mystery guy, she would make an exception.

Weiss shook her head to rid herself of the thought.

"What's the time?" Ruby asked as she pulled on a pair of black jeans. The knees had holes in them and Weiss idly wondered what her father would think of her partner and friend. He'd be horrified, no doubt.

"Seven thirty," she replied after briefly glancing at her Scroll. "I'm going to see if JNPR are ready."

"Oh, let me come," Ruby said quickly, voice muffled as she pulled her head through a red shirt. Weiss waited patiently as Ruby fussed with her hair. Satisfied, they left Yang shouting through the door and crossed the hallway.

Weiss knocked sharply on their brand new door.

Pyrrha answered.

"Good morning," Weiss greeted. "How are..."

She trailed off.

Ruby and Weiss stared at their classmate, who stared back at them with a face made of stone.

"Good morning," Pyrrha replied neutrally.

"Er," Ruby began after a moment of silence. "A-Are you guys ready? Blake is in the shower and then we'll just have to wait for Yang."

Emerald green eyes pierced through her. Ruby had to fight the urge to step back.

"Ren and I are ready," she answered slowly before pausing. Weiss and Ruby watched warily as she finally spat out, "Nora and Jaune should be finished in a moment."

"Pyrrha?" the familiar voice of Nora Valkyrie called out. "Who is it?"

This time Ruby couldn't stop her impulse and almost leapt back across the hall. She wasn't alone as Weiss flinched back from the way Pyrrha's face seemed to almost convulse. The Mistrailian was one of the most pleasant people either of them had ever met but as of this moment, she looked like she was about to commit murder.

"Weiss and Ruby have come to visit," Pyrrha said loudly for her teammates benefit, though her voice was monotone at best. Her hand had tightened on the door handle and they were pretty sure it was threatening to bend under her grip.

"Oh! Invite them in, silly!" Nora laughed. "Weiss! Ruby!"

Pyrrha silently stepped aside.

A little unsure, Weiss and Ruby shared a look before stepping into the room. And then promptly froze.

Jaune was seated on the end of his bed, almost engulfed in a puffy pink bathrobe. Hair damp from a recent shower, his chin was lathered with shaving cream. It wouldn't have been so strange a sight even if it was something he really should have been doing in the bathroom. The reason why he wasn't in the bathroom was immediately clear.

"What is going on here?" Weiss said thunderstruck.

Nora tilted her head innocently, half straddled across Jaune's lap as she observed the new arrivals.

"Shaving," the ginger haired girl said simply like Weiss was a particularly dim child.

One of her hands was threaded through his hair, cupping the back of his head as it tilted back, exposing the long planes of his neck. Nora carefully run a razor carefully across his skin, leaving behind nothing but smooth, slightly flushed skin. Ruby and Weiss stared in disbelief as Nora adjusted her position, her own loosely tied bathrobe falling open to reveal white and pink lingerie. Nora wasn't what you would consider a girl of precision, yet she showed remarkable control and dexterity as she leaned across his body and dunked the razor into a bowl of water before gently returning it to his chin in one fluid motion.

Weiss and Ruby felt their cheeks heat up as her breasts brushed against him as she repeated the motion several more times. The only reason Jaune didn't react was because he likely couldn't feel a thing through his bathrobe.

"Nora, you're flashing our guests," Ren said from his corner of the room, not sounding surprised or even very reproachful. It was the voice of someone who had given up. Nora made a cute little embarrassed sound and pulled her robe closed before continuing her task, tilting Jaune's head to the side. Her legs were practically wrapped around one of his own to keep her body steady, the length of her body pressed against his side.

They looked like they were posing for some erotic artwork, not employing facial hair care.

"Blrrrhhg," Ruby said stupidly.

Team JNPR had broken her.

"Hi guys," Jaune greeted them sheepishly as they continued to stand in a stupor. He looked a little embarrassed to be caught in such a position, yet they felt it wasn't nearly embarrassed enough. Though being on Team JNPR, maybe his brain had adapted to handle his teammate without melting. Pure survival. "We're almost ready-"

"Don't move," Nora admonished, running a palm against a bare cheek. She gave it a playful tap. "I'm almost done."

"Right, sorry."

"Hey guys, are you ready to roll-?" Sun stopped in the doorway, causing Neptune and their two other teammates to crash into his back. They stumbled into the room, nearly bowling Ruby and Weiss over.

They suddenly had a gawking crowd.

Nora gave one final flourish of the hand.

"There! All done," Nora hopped off his lap and admired her handy work. Running a finger across his jaw, she nodded in satisfaction. "Smooth as silk!"

Jaune went into the bathroom to check in the mirror and returned with a thumbs up. Ren threw him a towel.

"What is going on here?" Blake asked from the hallway, trying to peek over the shoulders of SSSN without much success.

"Okay, show time is O-VER! Out! Out!" Nora corralled them out like a professional. "We need to dress! See you soon!"

The last sight they saw was the stone cold face of Pyrrha Nikos as the door slammed shut.

Blake looked at everyone else in askance.

"That team gives me a headache," Weiss finally said.

Forty minutes later found the three teams seated in a transport as it approached the Vale central terminal. Yang had a feeling she had missed something earlier but had no idea what. Instead she just watched in amusement as Weiss grilled both Scarlet and Sage, the two boys looking a little intimidated at the twenty questions. Introductions had barely finished before the diminutive Huntress-in-training had honed in on the two like a hawk. Or maybe a bloodhound.

"I hear that you boys are quite popular with the ladies," the white haired girl needled.

"Not really," Scarlet muttered uneasily.

"Uh," Sage leaned away when she entered his personal space, her face uncomfortably close. "I-I don't know what you've heard, but-"

"Come now," she waved her hand airily. "No need to be humble. I've heard some things," her eyes gleamed. "Many things. Perhaps you could clear the air a little?"

Neptune was trying to signal them both with subtle gestures but was so far only accomplishing in annoying Sun, whom he kept jostling with his elbow as the monkey faunus attempted to chat up her partner. Blake looked bored with the whole ordeal, zoning out and staring straight across at Ren. Anyone else might have been disturbed by her vacant stare but Ren just stared back at her like it was some sort of game. Maybe it was.

"So where are we going first?" she asked as they docked. The platform was pretty busy, the early morning rush some would call it. Several other airships were docked beside their own from all across the kingdom. They filed out and maneuvered their way through the bustling crowd, Jaune and Pyrrha bringing up the rear, the blond looking a little queasy but thankfully in full control of his gag reflex.

Yang kept one eye on him just in case.

"I have put together an itinerary," Weiss began. Ruby had to stifle a giggle but Weiss heard it anyway, turning to glare at her partner. When she felt the younger girl was sufficiently cowed, she pulled out her Scroll and showed them all a well put together time table.

"Is that colour coded?" Blake asked in amusement.

"Of course," Weiss answered haughtily. "Red is for activities that require payment while green are free to the public to enjoy, while blue-"

Team JNPR were used to Weiss and her ways, but SSSN had not encountered this particular Weiss before. They watched dumbfounded as the small girl outlined the days events in detail, perfect nails tapping at the screen to emphasize certain points. They looked increasingly confused the longer she talked.

"-the little symbols denote which involves physical activity, while the ones without-"

"The scary thing is she must have planned this all out last night after we went to sleep," Blake revealed. Yang just shook her head as if to say, 'this is our teammate'. "How about we just show them to the important spots and then go from there?"

Weiss stopped mid-sentence and considered the proposal.

"Fine," she relented, pocketing her Scroll. "Shall we go?"

"You sure know how to pick em, Neptune," Sage whispered to his friend as the group started moving. He looked shell shocked. "She seems... intense."

"Haha, yeah," the blue haired boy said nervously. "Just imagine, though. _Imagine_."

"Imagine what?" a voice asked from behind, causing Neptune to almost scream. Sage and Scarlet laughed at their teammate.

"Sorry," Jaune said. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Woah, dude, what are you talking about? Scared? Puh-lease." He straightened his back and puffed out his chest.

Neptune was ignored in favour of Sun, who clapped hands with Jaune and pulled him into some complicated handshake-hug combo that just left him confused.

"How you doing, man?" the monkey faunus was all smiles.

"Uh, good," Jaune answered after a moment. He looked at his hand and back again, before shaking his head. "Scarlet, Sage."

They exchanged nods.

Sun quickly looked around to make sure no one could overhear them and reeled Jaune in even further. "I see you found yourself a girl."

Jaune looked startled. "What?"

"Nora. She was all over you. Inter-team relationships can be messy but I have to say, man, I can't blame ya. Wow."

"What?" Jaune said again. "What? No! Sun, we aren't together."

Sun gave him a very disbelieving look. "Dude, she was shaving you."

Jaune just shrugged.

"Shaving you," he repeated. Sage was nodding along. "It was like watching an old married couple. Only young. A young married couple. You could cut the sexual tension it was that thick."

"I think you guys have the wrong idea," Jaune laughed awkwardly. "Nora is just Nora. She just does things sometimes. You shouldn't look into it."

When the four boys just stared at him, he added, "She gets bored easily."

As if that explained it.

The street was less crowded than the terminal. Crossing the road, the group made their way downtown. Despite none of them having had breakfast, no one was particularly hungry yet, even if the smells from the various cafe's and bakeries were simply mouthwatering. They wandered almost aimlessly, passing through central park and alongside the river that bisected the commercial hub from the residential. Small talk was exchanged and it wasn't until Ruby let out a squeal of excitement that they had discovered their first stop.

"Absolutely not," Weiss said, though her eyes seemed to betray her. They kept flicking back towards the establishment every few seconds, even while she tried to restrain her partner. "We are here to dig-to show team SSSN around Vale, not indulge in... this."

"Come on, please," Ruby begged. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease-"

"Woah," Neptune said as the boys approached. "This place is huge."

Flashing lights and the sound of laughter could be heard from within, bells and whistles and music accompanying it.

"Cmon, Weiss," Ruby pulled the heiress around. "Have you ever been to an arcade before?"

Yang and Nora grinned at the conflicted expression of Weiss' face.

"Of course not," she snapped. "I had better things to do with my time than waste it in such a fashion. I wouldn't be caught dead in such a place."

Completely contrary to her words, she had crept closer to the window to get a better look inside. Nora and Yang laughed, stepping forward as one. Weiss squawked as they boxed her in, lifting her like she weighed nothing. She kicked her legs wildly like an unruly child.

"Put me down this instant!"

"No can do, Weiss," Yang said as the two girls hauled her through the door. "We're just helping you be honest with yourself, aren't we, Nora?"

The ginger haired girl cackled.

"Right," Ren said as they vanished within, Ruby, Blake and Pyrrha rushing in behind them. "Arcade it is."

With the Vytal Festival fast approaching, schools across the kingdom were on break. Meaning that when they stepped inside, they soon discovered that it was jam packed full of a children and teenagers of all ages, even so early in the morning. Weiss looked a little overwhelmed by the bright lights and noise, head whipping to and fro as Yang and Nora pulled her deeper inside.

Ruby pelted by them and gestured for them to follow.

"Over here," she called. She was standing in front of a large machine, two plastic guns seated on a series of rails. There were several of them lined up, most of them occupied. "Weiss, play with me?"

Weiss blinked as she was set down next to her partner, Nora and Yang drifting away without a word. She glanced up and read the title 'Grimm Crisis' in bold red lettering. "Ruby, I don't know-"

"Pretty please? It's really fun. Look, you shoot Grimm with these and use the pedal to stand up from behind cover," Ruby pulled out her purse, slipping out a plastic card with the arcade logo on it. "I'll pay. I have time on my card."

Weiss hesitantly picked up the large gun, holding it awkwardly.

On the other side of the room, Sun and Neptune were already engaged in a fight to the death. The two wildly mashed at their buttons while jerking the joysticks around rapidly, Neptune cursing as his character reached zero health, his secondary character entering the fray in a whirl of blade strikes. Ren took one look at the side of the booth and grinned, a familiar likeness staring back at him along side the words 'BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle'.

"Not just Pumpkin Pete cereal, huh?" he teased his teammate. Pyrrha gave an embarrassed laugh. Two young boys nearby had noticed the resemblance and were staring unabashedly. She gave them a wave.

Calling upon all their bravery, they stepped forward, the one on the right asking, "Y-You're Pyrrha, aren't you? Pyrrha Nikos!"

She smiled. She may have had issues with her fame at times but humoring children was something she was more than happy to do. "I am."

His friend looked ready to explode. "So cool! Could we get a picture? Pretty please?"

"Certainly."

Pyrrha lowered herself to their level as they took a selfie, the three of them making the peace sign and beaming at the camera.

"Guys, guys!" Nora called as the two boys ran off to find their friends, almost tripping over themselves in their excitement. "Over here!"

At the back of the complex was a batting cage, Nora almost vibrating in place as she exchanged money with the operator. Sliding on the helmet, she skipped into the cage with a huge smile, baseball bat slung over her shoulder.

"Don't break anything, Nora," Ren felt compelled to say.

She laughed. "I'll try."

She placed one hand in her shorts pocket, her body tensing up briefly before she gave a quick shudder. Ren shook his head. Nora then adopted a stance, tapping the bat against the ground before settling into the classic batting position. She nodded to the operator who nodded back. The first pitch came fast and straight down the middle, resembling nothing but a white blur as it shot from the pitching machine.

"Haaaaaaah!" Nora swung with a mighty heave, bat connecting against the ball with a sharp metallic crack. The ball sailed down the range and hit the padded wall. A number flashed on a nearby screen, indicating the distance it would have flown if they'd been outside.

The operator looked a little dumbfounded.

Ren clapped politely, Pyrrha about to do the same when Nora turned and gave her a smug look. Pyrrha froze before her eyes narrowed.

"How about a little bet?" Nora grinned slyly. "You beat that and you can shave Jaune-y next time."

Competitive spirit engaged, Pyrrha marched over to the operator to retrieve her own helmet and bat. Ren groaned, rubbing his face.

"Nora, did you really have to do that?"

"Yeeeep~"

She stuck her tongue out and bopped herself on the head before leaving the cage, giving Pyrrha a nudge as they passed.

"Don't you think this is a little unfair?" Ren continued when his partner took her place beside him. "Pyrrha is strong and her timing will be impeccable, but your semblance sort of makes this one sided."

Nora pouted. She'd been caught.

"Aww Ren, don't be such a spoil sport. Pyrrha can handle a little loss every now and then."

"Why do you even have a dust crystal in your pocket anyway?"

She didn't answer.

Pyrrha was set, looking a little ridiculous with her ponytail squashed under the helmet but otherwise focused. Green eyes closed for a moment, the girl taking a deep breath, before they snapped open. She nodded to the operator. She looked like she was about to take on a horde of Grimm.

Ren frowned. For a moment, he was sure her bat had-

Like with Nora, the ball flew straight and true. Pyrrha swung with perfect technique, the ball cracking off the bat sharply. There was a slight whistling as it hit the padded wall with a thwack.

Ren, Nora and the operator stared blankly at the number that appeared on the screen.

"What?" Nora finally said in shock.

Pyrrha looked extremely pleased with herself, giving Nora a smirk in return as she exited the cage. She removed the helmet and gave her hair a flick. It was such an absurdly practiced motion that it couldn't be constituted as anything but a declaration of war.

Ren coughed, smothering his laughter at the look of pure astonishment Nora wore.

"I guess she couldn't handle a little loss after all," he ribbed.

"Best two out of three!" Nora howled.

While this was going on, a crowd had gathered around one section of the arcade, composed primarily of young male teens. It soon become obvious why.

Rapid, fast paced lyrics sounded alongside an equally fast rhythm, flashing lights matching the pace as a certain blonde haired girl moved to the beat. She seemed to almost effortlessly move across the platform, her feet tapping each square in near perfect order. Eyes followed her as she added a little twirl, hair flaring out behind her as the song finished, though those very same eyes were focused lower.

Much lower.

"Phew," Yang wiped her slightly moist forehead, giving her opponent an amused smirk as the crowd of onlookers applauded. A few even wolf whistled. Yang preened under the attention. "Good try but I'm still the queen."

Scarlet puffed out a harsh breath, "More like a monster."

Yang laughed then jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "Back of the line. I've got more unruly subjects to deal with."

Scarlet just groaned but stepped off, Sage giving him a pat on the back for his valiant effort. Yang glanced at their scores. He was a lot closer to her than anyone else had been - the other nine had been severely trounced.

"Alright," Yang called out. "Who do I have to beat next?"

As two boys fought over who would get to face her, she took another deep breath, fanning herself with a hand. Her cheeks were a little flushed from exertion, though she was far from tired. She wasn't a Huntress-in-training for nothing.

"Thirsty?" a familiar voice asked.

Yang almost toppled off the platform as she reacted to the water bottle flying her way.

"Give a girl a little more warning next time," she snarked, though she smiled in appreciation. Jaune smiled back.

"Dance, Dance, Remnant, huh?" he said as she screwed the top off and nearly inhaled the water within in one pull. "Brings back memories."

"Phwa!" Yang wiped her mouth and tossed the now empty bottle back. Jaune caught it and binned it. "Oh yeah? How about you get up here and I give you some new memories."

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked. "I wouldn't want to ruin your perfect record."

Yang blinked, taken aback. But only for a moment.

"Oho," Yang shot him a challenging look. "Big talk there, little man. Get up here now so I can put you in your place."

"Little man?" he asked as he stepped up onto the platform. He didn't look worried, not at all. "I'm taller than you are."

Yang waved her hand dismissively. "Pssh - details."

"Hey, wait," one of the fighting boys said. He can't have been much older than Ruby.

"Sorry guys but I've got a friend to school," She gave them a wink. "Don't worry. This'll be quick. Then you'll get a turn with me."

Jaune smiled in response, removing his jacket and draping it over the back railing, revealing a baggy white under shirt. He was getting some pretty sour looks from her crowd of admirers but he ignored them in favour of paying for a single round.

"Any song in particular?" he asked when the menu popped up and they synced their machines.

Yang shrugged. "You can pick. I don't want you crying about the song when I mop the floor with you."

Jaune hummed, scrolling through the list with a practiced hand. "Hm. I'm going to hate this."

"What? Losing?"

He selected a song.

"No. Making a girl cry."

She gave him a savage smile. Banter with Jaune Arc, who would have thought?

The song had a bit of a build up, starting slow as the familiar voice of a famous idol from Mistral supplied the vocals. Jaune jumped in place, giving his limbs a little wiggle. Yang watched him warm up. She remembered from the school dance that Jaune was certainly no slouch when it came to dancing. The blond boy dressed up in that white dress busting a move on the dance floor was perhaps the highlight of the night, something no one would be likely to forget. And not just because of the dress.

Yang frowned. Now why did that memory niggle at her, all of a sudden?

"Ready?" Jaune asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. Yang realised that the game was about to begin and got into position.

"You bet."

The chorus finished and the arrows started rolling. Yang knew this song - it had been wildly popular when she was younger, and also one of the hardest songs in this game. It was very deceptive with small pauses and abrupt changes in pace. It was very easy to trip up, to become almost a slave to the rhythm, then it would pull the carpet out from under you.

Jaune wasn't messing around.

They moved as one, feet tapping back and forward, the pair almost skipping in place at the rapid pace the game set. They were perfectly in sync, hips twisting side to side in unison, shuffling left and right, eyes full of focus as they completed the complicated steps.

It was quite the sight.

Blake watched all this from among the crowd of onlookers, clutching a stuffed animal to her chest.

"Yang looks fired up," she commented idly.

Ruby appeared beside her without warning, almost vibrating out of her boots. There were no rose petals, so she hadn't used her semblance. "Hey Blake. Where'd you get that?"

The smaller girl was pointing at her stuffed animal. Blake held up the plump penguin for inspection as Weiss trudged over looking disgruntled and a little worn out.

"Claw game," she replied.

Ruby stared up at her in wonder. "Wow, I never win on those. How'd you do it?"

Blake grinned. "Secret."

"No fair!"

Weiss stepped in a little closer. "What are those two doing?"

She was pointing at Jaune and Yang, looking a little shocked.

"Rhythm game," Blake supplied. "You tap the correct panels with your feet, which matches the tempo of the song."

"Yang is suuuper good at this," Ruby bragged to her partner. "She'd spend hours on them when we were younger."

"She's losing."

"What!?"

It was true. At some point, there must have been a misstep because her combo was significantly lower. Meanwhile, it looked like Jaune's combo was unbroken and growing by the second.

Weiss had started to hum along with the vocals, her teammates giving her surprised looks.

"She has a good voice," Weiss declared after a few moments. "Though the music leaves much to be desired and the lyrics are incredibly shallow. Her talent is being wasted."

Ruby laughed. Only Weiss would critique an arcade game in such a manner.

"It looks like she lost," Blake pulled their attention back to their friends.

She was right. Yang looked stunned, staring at the screen in disbelief. On the other hand, Jaune looked oddly calm as he tapped at the screen, inputting his initials. He'd gotten a high score.

JJA was added in third. First and second were also JJA, as well as fourth, fifth and seventh. As a matter of fact, they comprised almost the entire list. There were only two other initials listed.

Yang turned to him in shock. He smiled in response and couldn't help but say, "I'm the king in these parts."

The crowd who had been pro-Yang were also taken aback. Jaune slipped on his jacket and stepped down. He noticed them after a moment, making his way over with a wave.

"Hey guys," he spotted Blake's prize. "Cute penguin."

"Thanks," Blake replied automatically. "You were quite good at that. You absolutely thrashed her."

Jaune chuckled. "My sisters used to bring me here all the time. It was pretty much the only thing I was good at."

"You move well," Weiss complimented primly. "If only you moved so well in combat class. Watch out, by the way."

Jaune gave her an odd look. "What?"

It quickly became clear what she meant, a powerful arm wrapping around his head and placing him in a headlock. He flailed wildly as a pair of knuckles grinded against the top of his skull in a classic noogie, his face pressed into something soft.

"Don't get cocky," Yang roared as she mussed up his hair. "I want a rematch!"

"Ack, Yang - stop!"

"Not until you grovel!"

"Don't do it!" Nora called out as she approached with Pyrrha and Ren. "Never surrender!"

Jaune slipped free and grabbed Nora by the shoulders, steering her in front of Yang so she couldn't get at him. Nora beamed at Yang, not at all bothered being used as a meat shield by her leader.

"You can't hide forever!" Yang threatened, held off by the Nora-wall.

"Watch me!"

"Yes, well," Weiss said dryly as the two continued to bicker over a video game. "Now that we've confirmed that Yang is a sore loser-"

"-Hey!-"

"-I think a bit of food wouldn't go amiss. Wait, what is that?"

Blake followed her horrified eyes. "Picture booth."

It was large and pink, with a frilly curtain and covered in love hearts and cupids arrows. No doubt intended for couples, though it was certainly big enough for a group of people. Further supported when a group of five stumbled out from behind the curtain, laughing and gathering their strip of photos.

"Are you interested?" Pyrrha asked the heiress. "We could do team photos."

Weiss had a conflicted look on her face, similar to when they'd first stepped foot inside the arcade.

"Alright!" Nora shouted. "Class photo time! C'mon, Weiss."

"H-Hey, wait a seco-unhand me!" Weiss struggled but it was futile, Nora shoving her inside before piling the rest of her friends in one by one, no matter how hard they tried to throw her off.

"Wait, Nora," Ren tried but was cut off, getting a mouthful of Ruby's hair. "Mmgllph!"

"Ah!" Ruby squeaked.

"Sorry!" Pyrrha apologised when she slammed into Blake, who in turn pushed Jaune across into Weiss. The tiny girl was pressed up against the side of the booth, Jaune barely bracing his arms in time to stop from squashing her completely.

As it was, they were almost nose to nose.

"Uh," Jaune said nervously.

Weiss swallowed.

"Watch the hair," Yang whined.

"Oops," Nora giggled.

"Whose hand is that?" Ren uncharacteristically yelped. There was a bit of shuffling but no one answered, though Blake's face flushed a guilty scarlet.

"Nora," Pyrrha scolded. Her stern face was ruined by the fact that Yang's shoulder was pressed against her cheek, puffing out her lips. "We barely fit."

The ginger haired girl looked unconcerned. "But we _do_ fit. Now lets get this started."

They were all elbows and knees, digging into sides and more sensitive places as they tried to get comfortable, a literal mass of person. Ruby practically crawled across the group in an attempt to find a better position, her small size allowing a small amount of leeway. She squeezed in-between Blake and Jaune, getting a face full of Blake's penguin, before trying to wiggle by closer to Weiss. Her hand slipped off Jaune's waist and jabbed Weiss under her ribs.

Weiss suddenly burst out into a sharp bark of laughter, so completely out of character that everyone froze at the sound. She smothered herself instantly, looking scandalized.

Jaune looked at her, wide eyed.

Ruby grinned evilly.

"Weiss," she said seriously. "Are you ticklish?"

Icy eyes narrowed.

"Don't you dare."

"What do you mean?"

"Ruby, I swear-"

"You would never!" Ruby gasped dramatically.

"Ruby!"

A small hand darted forward, fingers digging into Weiss' side and wiggling wildly. Weiss jerked in place, a high pitched giggle erupting despite her best efforts. Jaune's face flushed as her front brushed against his.

"Ruby," he said urgently. "Cut it out."

"I'm going to kill yoooaaahhahaha," Weiss dissolved into a mess of laughter and jerking movements, body trying to escape Ruby's evil grasp. Jaune made a sort of choked gasping sound.

"Say cheese!" Nora said.

There were several flashes.

Team SSSN watched as their friends fell out of the photo booth in a pile of limbs.

"Man, they're all pretty close, don't you think?" Sage asked his team. They didn't disagree.

Their photos popped down into the little tray.

"I demand that you burn them at once," Weiss said as they exited the arcade. The group started back up the road they came, towards the delicious smells from the morning.

"Whaaat?" Nora said, outraged. "These are a sign of our friendship. How could you be so cold? Nay! So cruel!"

"I look ridiculous!" Weiss shouted. "I was under duress!"

"I dunno, Weiss," Yang grinned. "You looked like you were having a good time."

Ruby skipped ahead in search of a nice place to eat. If it kept her out of arms reach of Weiss, that was just a coincidence. It wasn't like she had any reason to fear her partner. No, not at all.

Her stomach growled. See? It was all about food.

"And you!"

Ruby vanished into her semblance.

"Get back here!" Weiss yelled as she gave chase at a much slower pace.

Pyrrha giggled. "It is good to see Weiss so relaxed."

Neptune rubbed his neck. "This is relaxed?"

"You betcha," Yang said. "Weiss can be pretty high strung. Likes to keep everything bottled up. You know she is in a good mood when she starts yelling."

The blue haired boy gave her a doubtful look. "That doesn't make sense at all."

Yang flicked him on the nose, causing him to flinch. "Sure it does. She is always trying so hard to be perfect, even when it makes her unhappy. She needs to let it out. You know she is having fun when she lets loose like this. Like our little Blake here," she reeled her partner in like a fisherman, the faunus hissing at being manhandled again so soon after Nora, "see what I mean? You know she is enjoying herself when she does something other than stare blankly at you. Here is a little tip, Sun. Never give up. If she runs? Chase her down. If she hides? Buy her some fish. Those glares? Don't be fooled, it is a sign of affection."

The monkey boy laughed nervously when Blake turned her ire his way. "This doesn't feel like affection."

"Don't listen to her," Blake said quietly, ducking away from her partner. "You can buy me fish anytime."

Pyrrha eyed them curiously. "I don't know about Blake but what she said about Weiss is accurate. Or at least, in my experience with her."

"Unless you are Jaune," Ren supplied. Nora laughed.

His leader shot him a look of betrayal. "C'mon man, spare my feelings."

"Hey guys!" Ruby called from down the road. Weiss was hunched over next to her looking a little frazzled. "We found a place!"

The place was a little cafe with cute tables covered in tartan table cloths and a impressive display of mouthwatering cakes. Ruby looked ready to pass out at all the sweets on offer, nearly hyperventilating at the prospect of trying them all. Meanwhile, Weiss was inspecting each one closely, peering at them from various angles as if to determine which one was the best by sight alone. There was other food on offer; pre-made sandwiches, savory pastries and quiches, and a whole menu filled with a range of burgers, melts and other hot foods.

The staff behind the counter looked startled at the sudden influx of customers as the aspiring Huntsmen stepped inside, joining the two sweet-tooth girls in front of the display.

"These look acceptable," Weiss said after a few more moments of inspection.

"And no cake butler needed," Ruby teased. Weiss swiped at her half-heartedly.

The group took turns ordering before filing outside to the outdoor tables. When her piece of strawberry cake was delivered, Ruby had to struggle not to demolish it in one go. Or rather her sister had to restrain her before she shoved the whole thing in her mouth.

"Slow down, Rubes," Yang rapped her knuckles over the back of her head, earning an annoyed, "Ow!" in response. She contemplated attempting to steal the juicy strawberry perched on a swirl of cream but one look at her little sisters face convinced her it wasn't worth it. Meanwhile in total opposite, Weiss carefully used the edge of her fork to slice a portion of her chocolate cake, eyes rolling back as the moist sponge and moose filling touched her tongue. An approving moan followed.

Neptune coughed into his coffee, nearly choking as it splashed back up his nose, while Jaune, Ren, Sun and Sage busied themselves with their food to cover up their own reactions. Blake snickered as she ate her cream filled crepe.

As they ate their fill, talk inevitably strayed toward their next destination.

"What about the docks?" Yang asked before frowning. "Oh wait, never mind."

"The Valean Museum of Art has a new exhibition-" Weiss paused at the looks she received. "What?" she huffed. "Oh, why do I even bother."

"We were hoping to do a little shopping," Ren confessed when no other ideas were given and Weiss was in real danger of bringing out her itinerary again. "I need a new pair of shoes, as does Nora."

"And I need some new shorts for training," Pyrrha added, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. "Mine are getting a little worn."

"Sounds like a plan," Yang said.

Finishing up, they made their way down to the biggest retailer in town for all things fashionable and Huntsmen. Combat skirts, mesh undershirts, reinforced boots, spandex training shorts, the store had it all. First and foremost practical, but combined with the outgoing fashion style Huntsmen had adopted after the Great War to express themselves and show off their individualism. It also had regular everyday wear. A retail chain couldn't just survive off the Huntsman population, after all.

"That doesn't seem to cover much skin," Jaune said as he stared up at a mannequin. It was wearing a type of dress, and yet it looked more like a collection of ribbons than anything else. Strategically placed ribbons.

"Fashion," Scarlet said simply.

Weiss gave it a look of extreme distaste as they moved deeper into the store, the group fanning out.

"What do you think?" Yang asked as she pulled an orange crop top from the rack and held it in front of her body. She struck a silly pose.

The white haired girl gave it a single glance. "Loud colours suit you."

"...why does that sound like an insult?"

"Ooh, look at this," Ruby said while admiring a black leather corset inlaid with studs, the shoulder straps adorned with silver buckles. She reached for the tag. "It says it is highly heat and stab resistant."

Blake peered over her shoulder in interest. The two had a surprisingly similar sense of fashion. It was all that black.

"It's totally you," she said after a moment.

Ruby smiled. "You think?"

"Expensive, though," the faunus added.

Ruby pulled a face at the price tag. "A-ha, no kidding."

"Don't worry about the price," Weiss said. "If you want it, I'll pay for it."

Ruby, Yang and Blake stared at their teammate.

Noticing their looks, she scowled. "What? Don't get the wrong idea, okay? I'm just being a good teammate."

"Weiss," Ruby said softly.

"Don't!" she snapped, pointing at her dramatically. "Maybe I shouldn't after all, not after you attacked me in that booth."

"Oh?" a familiar voice drawled, drawing their attention. "That sounds like an interesting story."

The smirking face of Coco Adel greeted them.

"Hey," she waved, a finger pulling down her glasses so they could see the browns of her eyes. "How're you firsties doing?"

The older girl sauntered towards them, looking perfectly at home amongst the many racks of clothing. Team RWBY weren't surprised; everyone knew how mad about fashion Coco was.

"Hey," Yang returned. "We're good. Just hanging out with JNPR and a team from Haven."

Coco hummed. "I thought I saw the Invincible Girl before. It looked like she was dragging her teammate over to the changing rooms. Awfully forward of her."

"Are you alone?" Weiss asked.

Coco waved her hand. "Oh, Velvet is around here somewhere. I started picking out underwear for the poor girl - you should have seen her run. She can be pretty fast when she puts her mind to it, the little bunny." She sounded amused. "She really needs to spread her wings a little. Fox and Yats are back at Beacon. I guess they know better by now to accompany me shopping." She smile was knife sharp. "You thinking of buying that?"

She was talking to Ruby.

"Uh,"

"It suits you. Could use a little alteration. Something red. But you were already thinking that, weren't you?" She wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "How about big sis here give you a total make over. And you guys can answer some questions for me while we're at it."

"Questions?" Blake sounded uncertain. "About what?"

"Our dashing man of mystery, of course," Team RWBY tensed. "Hah - the looks on your faces. Calm down. Did you really think no one noticed? Blake here was practically living in the locker rooms this week. People talk."

Blake wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.

"Not to mention that the little miss here was offering fat stacks of lien to anyone who could tell her about that kid from Haven," Weiss blanched. "You really should have a more inconspicuous forum name - Crystal? A bit easy. And let's face it, almost every girl at Beacon has been watching those videos. It didn't take long to figure out what you guys were up to. Even little Rosie here."

"Um," Ruby tried weakly as she was given a playful shake.

"You weren't the first to try find him," Coco admitted. "Some of the older girls from fourth year started almost immediately. Guess they really liked what was on offer. Who could blame them, right? They stopped pretty quick, though. Not sure why. The girls in my class think they may have found him. Whatever the reason, they're keeping it to themselves."

"So what did you want to ask us?" Yang said when Coco didn't say anymore.

Coco grabbed the corset Ruby was interested in and led them over to another section that contained undershirts. Her hands moved through the racking in practiced motions, pushing aside anything that wasn't what she wanted.

"Have you guys found anything?" she asked casually, pulling out a tight red and white shirt. "We first and second years have to stick together. You share, I share."

Team RWBY shared a look. They hadn't thought about asking any of the other girls. Whether from embarrassment or because they'd wanted to keep it to themselves for selfish reasons they weren't sure, but at this point it wasn't like they had any better angle to work. They hadn't been able to find out much at all but maybe if they pooled their information, it would show them something they'd missed.

The four nodded.

"Sweet," Coco said, pulling another shirt out for inspection. "So what can you tell me?"

"We don't think they are in our year," Blake said tentatively when no one else said anything. "Either their physique doesn't match or their hair isn't the right colour."

Coco looked startled. "You know what colour hair he has?"

"Not exactly. We just know he has light colouring. His body hair is difficult to see. And when we saw his-uh," Blake swallowed thickly. "He, ah, appears to keep it shaved."

Coco smirked. "Oho. I never thought of that. Well done."

"We also believe he is human and not a faunus," Weiss spoke up. "We have been unable to identify any animal traits. If he has any, then they must be on his head and easily coverable. Ears, for example."

"Right."

"Unfortunately, we don't know if he is a Beacon student or from one of the other schools," Yang picked up. "The videos only started appearing after the first students had already arrived. That's why we looked into Neptune. Ruby also tried Mercury since he fit but according to his team, it isn't him."

Coco nodded when they finished. "I see. Well, that eliminates a few more, I suppose."

"So," Yang said after a few moments. Coco had found a suitable shirt and was now looking at accessories. "What can you tell us?"

"He isn't in our year, either," she revealed. "Lets just say we checked thoroughly and leave it at that. Not that I thought the stud was in our class. We've been training and sparring together for over a year. Someone would have seen something by now. The problem is the upper years."

Coco pulled out a few belts and held them up. Nodding, they joined the pile. "They've closed ranks, like I said. Since they are out on missions so often, it is hard to lock any of them down. And-"

She cut herself off. They were no longer alone.

"Coco," Ren greeted. If the tense atmosphere bothered him he certainly didn't show it, his face betraying nothing but serenity. "Have you guys seen Nora?"

They shook their heads.

Ren sighed. "Sorry to ask but could you help me look? I'd rather not let her run free in here alone."

"Aw, pretty boy, I'm sure your partner will be fine without you for a bit," Coco teased.

"It's not Nora I'm worried about," he said simply and RWBY understood where he was coming from.

"Sure, Ren, we'll help," Ruby said.

"We can talk later," Yang said to Coco as they dispersed to find their errant classmate, though not before Coco dumped her selection in Ruby's arms with a reminder to find some matching boots.

"Where did you see her last?" Blake asked as they walked.

"Over by the shoes. I've tried ringing her Scroll but it goes straight to voice mail."

They split up to cover more ground. The store was huge and had two levels, though the upper level was much smaller than the ground floor. Yang went up while Ruby, Weiss and Blake each took a corner of the store, Ren taking the other. It was as Weiss was passing by a truly horrible salmon pink three piece suit that she bumped into Pyrrha. Weiss paused, head tilted to the side as she watched the champion flick through a collection of shirts with a very intense look on her face.

Men's shirts.

"What are you looking for?" she inquired politely. Pyrrha nearly jumped through the racking, she was given such a fright.

"Weiss," the red head gasped, hand over her heart. "Don't sneak up on people!"

"Apologies," Weiss said, contrite. "It wasn't my intention. You just seemed... focused. Like you were going into battle."

Pyrrha gave an awkward laugh.

"I'm looking to get something for Jaune," she answered. "Something lighter than his hoodie. He is very attached to it."

"He isn't wearing his hoodie today," Weiss pointed out.

"No. Who do you think picked that shirt and jacket out for him?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "You are too nice, you know that? He can shop for himself."

Pyrrha just smiled in response and Weiss felt like she was missing something important.

She decided to get back on track. "You haven't seen Nora, have you? Ren is looking for her. He is worried about her being alone in here and I can't say I disagree. That girl can be a disaster when she puts her mind to it."

Pyrrha laughed and pointed to the center of the store. "She's by the changing rooms."

Weiss gave a relieved smile. "And we were worried for nothing. Thank you."

The heiress made her way over to the changing rooms, ducking through the curtain that separated them from the rest of the store. The women's section was left, while the men's was to the right, a line of cubicles complete with their own curtains for privacy. There was a mother and two young girls further down to the left, but no Nora.

Instead, Nora was on the men's side.

Taking a step in her direction, she was about to call out when her throat seized up, eyes widening in shock.

"Weiss?" Blake called as she stepped through the curtain behind her. "Did you have any-oh, you found her..." She trailed off.

Nora was unaware that she was being watched, the short girl facing one of the covered cubicles. In one hand she had a selection of shirts, dangling from a number of hangers, while in her other hand was her Scroll. It wouldn't have been such an unusual sight - that is, if it wasn't positioned between the gap in the curtain. They couldn't be sure, not completely. A Scroll looked like a Scroll, no matter what function was being used. However, Weiss would bet her bank account that it was set to record. The usually hyperactive ginger had a very odd look on her face. A look they'd never seen before, except maybe when she was about to devour her typically large breakfasts.

Hunger.

"No way," Blake whispered. "What is she-Who is in there?"

Her question was answered before Weiss could utter a sound. Nora stepped away quickly and slipped the Scroll into her back pocket moments before the curtain was drawn aside, a familiar boy standing in its place.

"Pyrrha, what do-" he paused, blinking in surprise. "Oh, Nora. Where's Pyrrha?"

Jaune. Jaune Arc.

"She's looking at some more shirts," Nora replied calmly, as if she hadn't been hovering outside his cubicle with her Scroll out.

"Oh, right," Jaune said before gesturing to his shirt. It was a forest green and slim fitting, with some sort of black graphic on the front. It looked incredibly fetching on his lean body. "What do you think?"

"Looking good, fearless leader," Nora beamed and gave him a thumbs up. "Want to try another?"

"Sure," he said easily and casually removed the shirt, returning it to its hanger. Right in front of his teammate.

"No way," Blake repeated though this time she was a tad hysterical, voice pitched high in disbelief.

Weiss didn't say anything, instead staring in mute shock at the defined, toned muscles she had only seen on a small screen before this very moment. Ice blue eyes traced the ridges of his abdominal muscles, not bunched as she was used to seeing them but in a state of relaxation, stretching out deliciously as he pulled on another shirt, his pectorals flaring wonderfully as the shirt fell to cover his torso once more.

She couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it.

It had been Jaune. Jaune all along.

 **AN: Part 1 of 2.**

 **I started writing this story way back before Season 3 had even aired. For whatever reason, I wrote about a quarter of this and then left it untouched until very recently, where I got the bug again.**

 **I've been reading fanfiction for quite a long time now and you start to notice trends in the things you read. I'd always see stories where they would go into great detail about the looks or clothing of female characters, especially when the context was a date. And almost always in response to a male character complimenting them, they would receive the classic line, "You don't look so bad yourself." That would be the extent of it.**

 **So I thought what if I went the other way and went into ridiculous detail about a male character? Well, I guess I found the thought fun, so I did it. From there, it turned into this.**

 **As I wrote, it kept getting longer and longer. At first it was meant to be a series of short chapters. Then a one shot. And now, it will be two chapters. About halfway through, Nora became the culprit and once that was confirmed, Jaune was always going to be the target.**

 **I hope this was able to get a few laughs. My writing is rusty, it has been awhile since I've posted anything.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: This took longer than it should have. More at the bottom.**

The sun was not yet peeking over the horizon when Jaune slipped out of his dorm, sport bag slung across one shoulder and a water bottle clutched in his opposite hand. Closing the door with a muffled click, he quickly walked down the dimly lit hallway and down the carpeted stairs, stepping out into the dark, empty courtyard that stood between the dormitory and the library building.

The crisp morning air caused goose pimples to erupt across his bare arms, a slight mist puffing from his lips as he traveled the familiar path he had taken for the last several months since Pyrrha had begun overseeing his training and the roof had outgrown its usefulness. Passing through the garden, he made a right turn around the back of the maintenance shed then down a small incline hidden between some trees, the narrow path widening into a large clearing near the cliffs overseeing the Emerald Forest.

Taking a moment to admire the dark purple hue of the sky and the even darker clouds, he placed his bag by his usual tree before removing his tank top, dropping the crumpled material atop his bag. Taking a small sip of water, he threw his bottle down as well before diligently starting his routine stretches.

" _Even for a Huntress or Huntsman, stretching is important,_ " Pyrrha's voice sounded in his head. " _I have seen fighters brought low by nothing more than their own bodies betraying them in their moment of need. Something as simple as a pulled muscle could be the difference between winning and losing, even with Aura._ "

He didn't doubt her for a second. There was a reason why she was a four time Mistral Regional Champion.

Finishing his last stretch, he took off at a slow jog. Running was perhaps one of the best parts of his daily workout. There was something calming about it but also extremely satisfying, to feel the burn his in legs and lungs and pushing beyond it. Being able to see his distances increase and knowing he was improving with each step taken.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been going but sunlight was now beginning to bathe the clearing in a soft orange hue. The shadows from the trees stretched long across the grass like grasping hands and for a moment, he thought he saw someone moving around his bag. He frowned.

No one ever came out here.

Jaune continued along his current path and to his surprise, his eyes had not been wrong. As he approached, he saw a very familiar person in some very unfamiliar clothing. He almost stumbled over his feet, shoes scuffing through some loose dirt as he slid to a stop.

"Weiss?" he asked more than a little surprised, a little winded from his run but not exactly out of breath either. "What are you doing here?"

He couldn't help it. It was bad enough that this was Weiss, the girl he had a crush on since the moment he saw her. But appearing before him so suddenly and dressed like that? It was impossible to stop it. His eyes wandered.

Small, light blue trainers replaced her wedge-heeled boots, while her combat skirt had been traded in for a pair of white spats. His eyes lingered on the way the tight spandex shorts showcased the subtle curves and shape of her slender thighs, and the way they drew attention to her slim waist and surprisingly full hips. Her bolero was gone, a simple blue sleeveless top replacing it and showing off her smooth shoulders and delicate collarbone, and even revealing a glimpse of her sports bra beneath. Instead of the usual side tail, her hair was pulled back in a more traditional ponytail. She was dressed down. When they had visited Vale the other day, she had been dressed much more casually than usual but this was something else entirely.

He was not prepared.

"Good morning," she greeted simply. His eyes snapped up to meet her own with dread. To his surprise, she was smiling at him like he hadn't just checked her out. Could she really not have seen? "I thought I would go for a little run. I didn't expect to find you here."

"Oh," Jaune said after a moment. "Yeah - I, uh, come here most mornings. No one really comes here."

Weiss nodded. "Yes. Privacy is good. Would you like some company or would you rather be alone?"

"No - I mean, yes. Please, stay," he stumbled over his words like an idiot. Her attire had fried his brain. "I don't mind. I mean, there is plenty of room." He wanted to scream. Of course there was plenty of room, they were outside. "Right. I'll shut up now."

Weiss giggled. "Yes, well - shall we begin?"

"Right," he said before realising one important fact.

He was shirtless. And sweaty.

She had obviously realised it as well. Matter of fact, her eyes had been aimed a little low the entire time they'd been talking. He suddenly felt self conscious. Weiss was a pretty reserved girl and he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Sorry, hang on a moment and I'll put on a shirt."

Weiss stepped forward without warning. "Don't."

At the commanding tone, he was brought up short. "What?"

She blinked up at him, the picture of calm. "Do you usually run with a shirt on?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then it is fine," she cut him off. "Don't change things on account of me."

Jaune wavered for a moment, unsure. "You really don't mind?"

Ice blue eyes rolled. "What did I just say?"

Her sharp tone was more familiar to him. He laughed. "Okay, okay. Shall we?"

She nodded and fell into step beside him. They set a decent pace, quickly establishing a sustainable rhythm. Even with her shorter stride, Weiss moved with the sort of effortless grace he had come to expect from her, her ponytail bobbing up and down as they followed the cliff edge. The sun rose ever higher as they lapped the area once, then again, then again and again. Soon enough, their jog had taken on a much faster clip, the pair moving at a brisk run.

"Tired yet?" Weiss asked as they rounded another bend.

"Nope," Jaune replied. "You?"

"Of course not."

As they completed more and more laps, their breathing grew labored and harsh. Wisps of steam coiled from their flushed and heated skin as their feet continued to pound against the ground.

"Want to quit?" she offered, breathlessly. Her forehead was beaded with sweat.

"Too fast for you?" he teased raggedly.

She glared at him before gracing him with a playful smirk.

And then they sprinting, twin smiles on their faces as all of a sudden, they were in competition.

"Hey, get back here," he said in laughter as she shot out ahead of him, as expected. Ruby may have been the fastest member on Team RWBY but Weiss was certainly no slouch, even without her glyphs. He was about to say something else when his eyes strayed down and his throat seized up.

His already flushed cheeks burned hot.

There was no other word other than perfection. He hadn't noticed because Weiss had been beside him the whole time they'd been running and facing him front on before that. Full and round, flexing with each stride, Jaune cursed whoever invented combat skirts to hell if this is the sight they were hiding.

Weiss might have been the smallest on her team when it came to her upper body, but Jaune was pretty damn sure she won the ass contest, hands down. It wasn't necessarily big, but it was beyond shapely. Pure bubble butt. Along with her toned, sculpted legs, it wasn't just a distraction. He was mesmerised.

It was inevitable that he'd screw up.

His feet crossed and he tripped, his eyes too busy on the prize and not on where he was going. Jaune hit the ground hard, exhaling heavily as he face planted like an idiot cartoon character.

"Jaune!" Weiss skid to a stop and ran back to him, looking worried. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Jaune groaned as he rolled over and sat up, covered in smeared dirt and pieces of grass. He looked a mess, panting heavily as he regained his feet. "Sorry, I tripped."

He wasn't the only one panting and it did very interesting things to her chest as she approached him, hand reaching out to brush at his skin. Jaune swallowed as her soft hand swiped across his front, removing what grass and dirt she could. The feel of her smooth palm touching him caused his brain to lag.

"Thanks," he said after a moment, his breathing evening out. Her hand continued to trace over his chest and down lower, across his stomach. He shivered. "Maybe we should call it quits. It was a good run."

His breathing may have evened out but hers hadn't. If anything it looked like she was breathing even faster than before, her cheeks flushed and damp with sweat. Glassy eyes stared straight at him, roaming up and down.

"Weiss?" Jaune asked uncertainly, jumping as her nails scraped lightly against his abs, the muscles contracting at the sensation. He almost choked when they caught the waistband of his shorts, lightly tugging at the material. He felt something stir down below at such a provocative action. "Weiss?" he repeatedly quickly, urgently.

Ice blue eyes snapped up to meet his own, pupils blown wide. There was a moment where he felt like his heart was going to burst out through his ribcage it thumped so hard but then she stepped away and he felt like a fool for reasons he couldn't quite understand.

"That was a good run," she said, echoing his words. Despite her feverish look, her voice was steady. Normal. "We should do it again some time." Her smile was full and genuine. It was beautiful.

Jaune fought for words. "Yeah, sure. That'd be cool."

Feeling the burn in his legs, he did a few stretches and she followed suit, before they both jogged back to his belongings. He unscrewed the cap on his water and took in a generous mouthful, pausing when he noticed Weiss had nothing of her own.

"Drink?" he offered.

"Thank you," she accepted. Her eyes lingered on it for a moment before she took small, controlled sips. Her pink lips looked plump as they parted around the mouthpiece. Jaune forced his eyes away.

"I guess I better hit the showers," he said as he pulled on his tank top. Weiss frowned but he didn't see it, busy with his bag.

"Of course," she replied as they set off back towards the school. "Locker rooms?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

The locker room was empty as it was most mornings. Jaune made his way over to his locker and pulled it open after typing in the passcode, depositing his bag inside below the mounted form of Crocea Mors. Kicking off his shoes and removing his socks, he pulled off his top and was about to step out of his shorts when he noticed that Weiss was still standing next to him, rummaging through the locker beside his own. A locker that he was sure belonged to someone else.

He blinked. "Uh, Weiss?"

She peeked out from behind the metal door, one eye visible. "Yes, Jaune?"

"Since when was that your locker?"

The singular eye blinked at him. "Since yesterday."

They stared at each other. When it was clear she wouldn't say anymore and he didn't know how to proceed without sounding stupid, he simply nodded and said, "Oh."

"There is almost nothing in this world money cannot buy," she said before turning back to her locker - her brand new locker. "Remember that."

Jaune stood unmoving until a familiar blue top was draped over her locker door, followed by a cute pink towel. Jaune felt his mouth go dry when a pair of white spandex shorts joined them.

"Right," he said quickly, grabbing his towel and wrapping it around his waist quickly before removing his shorts and underwear. He threw everything into his locker, pulled out his shampoo and body wash and slammed the door shut. "Thanks for keeping me company, see you later," he shot out before almost sprinting for the showers before she killed him.

Because there was no way in hell she wouldn't kill him if he saw anything, accident or not.

Choosing an open stall at random, he hung up his towel and pressed the button on the wall. Jaune felt his muscles relax as he stepped under the warm spray, a pleased hum rumbling in his throat. He remained standing there for a minute or two, just letting the water wash across his body and through his sweaty hair, before squirting a generous amount of shampoo into his palm. Lathering the sweet smelling liquid through his hair, Jaune tensed.

Slowly, he turned around.

There was no one there.

For a brief moment, he was sure he'd heard the sound of bare feet padding across the tiled floor. Seeing no one, he turned back around and continued working at his hair, slipping under the spray once more to rinse it all out. Task complete, he scrubbed at his face and eyes to remove any residue and then reached for his sponge.

Applying the body wash, Jaune scrubbed his torso and arms vigorously. Bending down to attack his legs, he paused as a faint sound reached his ears. Glancing warily over his shoulder, it was the same as before. There was no one there.

He could have sworn he'd heard laughter. Not just laughter. Giggling.

He jumped when he heard the shower next to his start with a hiss. So he hadn't been hearing things after all. Someone else was awake. Another student getting in some early morning training? Or maybe someone like Blake, who had to compete for time in their own bathroom.

Satisfied that the showers weren't suddenly haunted by some spooky spirit, he finished rubbing down his legs and crotch, stepping back once again under the spray. Good and clean, he hit the button and stepped out of the shower, grabbing his towel and wiping down.

Towel secure around his waist, Jaune turned to leave when something caught his attention on the edge of his vision, drawing his eye. A familiar pink towel was hanging from the hook on the next stall over. Correction, a familiar pink towel was hanging from the hook on the stall he was now standing in front of. His heart started racing like it had out in the field.

The very open stall.

A muscular, hairy ass greeted horrified eyes below a very broad, muscled back. The owners head swiveled around, pinning Jaune down with a look of surprise. Indigo eyes blinked beneath a head of short orange hair.

"Jauney boy?" Cardin Winchester asked after a moment.

"Cardin," Jaune said faintly, wishing for his life to end. "Morning."

"Morning," the bigger boy replied, quirking an eyebrow. "You gonna just stand there staring at my ass all day or are you going to do something useful and wash my back?"

Jaune left in a hurry to the sound of mocking laughter.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Jaune muttered to himself as he raced to his locker. "Why would you look, you idiot," he scolded. He knew why. He thought it was Weiss. "Even if it was her you idiot, she'd have killed you right then and there. Do you have a death wish?"

To complete the picture of madness talking to himself had created, he slammed his forehead against his locker. Again, again and again.

While the showers were unisex like everything else at Beacon, there was an unwritten rule between the students that the girls used one side while the guys used the other to avoid awkward situations. It wasn't a school rule but it was also something Weiss would follow without question. She wasn't a pervert.

"What did you think she was doing, checking you out?" he continued harshly. "Good god, get a grip, Jaune."

Taking several calming breaths, he regained control and pulled open his locker. His bag contained a fresh pair of clothes, which he slipped into and then attempted to comb his hair without much success. He was just applying his deodorant when he heard someone stepping behind him and a finger trail up the back of his shirt. He jumped.

"Look, Cardin," he said irritably. "I'm not really in the mood-"

"Cardin?" Weiss asked in surprise as she stepped up beside him. Jaune froze. "Is he here?"

She was wearing nothing but a towel, the damp material clinging to her slender, fit body, tight across her modest breasts. Her hair, long and wet, hung down her back, so long that it brushed against the backs of her thighs. Her smooth, creamy, bare thighs that the towel struggled to reach. Jaune let out a whine through his clenched jaw before averting his eyes.

"Mm," she hummed as she pulled open her locker. "You smell nice."

Jaune opened his mouth, tried to say something, then closed it again without a word. This morning was one absurd event after another and he hadn't even had breakfast yet. Like she could read his mind, she added, "Would you accompany me to the cafeteria? I worked up a bit of an appetite because of you."

"Sure," Jaune managed while trying to banish the thoughts her careless words had conjured in his stupid brain. He licked his chapped lips nervously. "I'll wait outside."

"Stay," she said firmly when he was about to retreat to the safety of the hallway. "Please. I could use your help."

Jaune regarded the smaller girl in shock. "What?" he couldn't even feel embarrassed at the way his voice threatened to crack, he was so taken aback.

Weiss pulled open her locker and passed him a spare towel. "Could you hold this up for me? I feel a little exposed in here."

It took him a few seconds to process her words.

"Oh," he said stupidly. He coughed. That was what she'd meant. Of course. "Right, sure - uh, there isn't anyone around to see you, though."

"Didn't you say Cardin was here? I'd rather not have that brute ogle me like a piece of meat if I can help it."

Jaune nodded slowly as he unfolded the towel. Swallowing thickly, he stepped behind her and held it up like a makeshift curtain, angling it so it blocked his view of her and hopefully anyone else if they came in.

"Thank you kindly."

The next few minutes were some of the most erotic of Jaune's life. The temptation was almost overwhelming as he heard Weiss' own towel fall to the ground and the rustle of clothing being put on. He jerked when something brushed against the towel-curtain, his eyes slamming shut on instinct as the material shifted. Somehow it was even worse with his eyes closed, every sound amplified and his mind creating inviting scenarios to taunt him with. The mild, sweet scent of her shampoo and body wash nearly ended him.

He was a bit of a mess when Weiss finally said, "I am decent."

Jaune hesitantly lowered the towel. Weiss arched an eyebrow at him, looking amused. She was dressed in the standard female school uniform, though her hair was still damp and hanging down her back.

"What about your hair?"

Weiss pulled out a vial of fire dust and sprinkled a small amount on her palm, such a minuscule amount that Jaune struggled to make it out even against her pale skin. With a flash a glyph appeared above her hand, the snowflake symbol rotating as it turned a deep red colour. Jaune almost stepped back in alarm as she raised her hand but felt foolish immediately when she passed the same hand through her hair. Alarm turned to awe as he saw her hair dry before his eyes, her fingers dancing through the white locks in practiced movements, the strands dancing in an unseen wind.

"Woah," Jaune uttered, astonished.

In mere moments, her hair was a shimmering waterfall of silk. It looked more silver than white, the way it gleamed in the overhead lighting.

Weiss looked pleased.

"That was amazing. I didn't know you could do something like with your semblance."

She pulled out a simple blue scrunchy at total odds with her rich girl image and arranged her hair into her typical sidetail, looking a little shy as she said, "I'm sure my ancestors wouldn't agree with such an application but - well, I had a lot of free time as a child and it was an incredibly useful way to practice control. Mistakes weren't an option."

"That sounds... dangerous. Couldn't you set your hair on fire?"

They exited the locker room and made their way down the hallway. The sun was well and truly out now, the morning bright and the chill rapidly receding as they stepped outside.

Weiss nodded. "Like I said, mistakes weren't an option. I tested it before trying it on myself, of course. I wouldn't be so reckless. Quite a few of my dolls suffered for it. Mother wasn't pleased."

Jaune laughed. "What gave you the idea?"

Weiss looked down. "It might sound a little vain but as much as I love my hair, I hated how long it would take to dry. Hair dryers were a hassle and while I could have always had someone else do it," here she looked uncomfortable, "I would much rather have done it myself. When my sister first started coaching me in the use of my semblance, she spoke of learning to push boundaries. Our semblance is incredibly versatile... though I don't think she had drying hair in mind."

They approached the cafeteria and Jaune held open the door, Weiss nodding in thanks as she stepped inside.

"Well, I think that is pretty creative of you. And it helped in the end, right?"

"Yes. My control increased by leaps and bounds."

There was a short line at the food window. They barely had to wait at all until they could order, the perks of an early riser. They were just approaching a table when a familiar voice called out, "Hey Weiss! Hey Jaune!"

The Schnee heiress hadn't even turned fully to return the greeting when Jaune pitched forward, almost dropping his tray as Ruby collided with his back, slipping her arms around his neck, her knees digging into his sides as she stole a piggyback ride. Two hurried steps quickly corrected his stance and he was able to stop himself from tripping over a bench.

"Woah!" he exclaimed.

"Ruby!" Weiss scolded. "Be careful!"

The youngest member of Team RWBY giggled, her warm breath gusting against Jaune's neck. He felt the small hairs rise in response, a shiver going down his spine.

"That you, Rubes?" he joked instead of acknowledging the reaction of his body. "Barely felt a thing."

Swift fingers pinched his side and he jumped.

"Felt that, though, didn'tcha?" Ruby joked back, her fingers lingering against his shirt before she dropped down to her feet. She beamed up at him. "Where have you two been? I woke up and Weiss was gone."

"Just a little run. Weiss found me by accident and decided to join me," he answered as they sat down, Weiss on his left, Ruby on his right. He felt a little caged in with how close they were sitting to him, almost thigh to thigh. He gestured at Ruby's empty table space. "Not hungry?"

"Yang is getting me something," she waved over to the food window and Jaune saw Yang, Blake and his team ordering their breakfast, Nora looking a little frazzled. "Weiss joined you, huh?" Silver eyes narrowed at her teammate, "She can be pretty sly when she wants to be, don't you think?"

Weiss spluttered angrily. "Just what are you implying?"

"You never come running with me, that's all."

"Because you just cheat and use your semblance!" Weiss snapped before quickly adding, "And it was a spur of the moment decision. I didn't know he would be out there."

"Hm," Ruby made a sound of agreement that even Jaune thought sounded false, which was proven correct when she said, "I don't know. I think you're just being a greedy girl, Weiss."

"Excuse me?"

Confused, Jaune focused on his bacon. It gave a satisfying crunch as he bit into it. The kitchen staff were incredible. None of that soggy, half-cooked stuff. Only crispy goodness. Beacon sure knew how to treat their students.

"Yo," Yang greeted as she sat down opposite them. Like Weiss, she was dressed in her school uniform, minus the blazer. She shot her sister and teammate an amused look. They were bickering while Jaune sat directly between them. "What has them so riled up?"

Jaune shrugged. "Not sure. Something about Weiss not running with Ruby?"

"They're awfully animated this morning," Blake commented as she sat next to her partner, in her combat attire. And then to Jaune's surprise, she smiled at him. "How are you this morning, Jaune?"

"Uh," he couldn't help it. She had a very nice smile. "Good. I'm good. Everything good here."

"Yes," Blake said, staring him right in the eye. "Yes it is."

"Okay?"

Yang slapped Blake on the back so hard she nearly fell into her bowl of porridge, the cat faunus scowling fiercely as she took a swipe back. Yang casually leaned away and dodged the attack. That only made her scowl even harder.

"Settle down, kitty cat. You have plenty of time."

"Don't say that so loud!" she hissed. Yang jerked her head at Blake and made a look as if to say, 'can you believe this girl?'. Jaune covered his mouth to hide a smile. A smile which quickly faltered as he felt something brush against his leg, a little too smooth to be an accident. His mouth went dry as a stocking clad foot rubbed firmly against him, his pants riding up slightly to expose skin. Skin that was promptly attacked.

"Good morning," Pyrrha greeted, causing Jaune to jump as the mystery foot jerked higher in surprise before pulling away. Jaune stared straight at Yang, trying to find any sign that she'd just attempted footsy under the table but couldn't find any, the buxom girl quirking an eyebrow when she noticed him looking. A little flustered, he turned to regard Blake yet she wasn't even looking his way, instead facing his partner.

"Morning," Blake replied. "Nora, are you okay?"

Nora blinked blearily as she sat, almost toppling off the bench sideways. If it wasn't for Pyrrha reaching out a steadying hand, she just might have. Instead of answering, the ginger haired girl just stared blankly at her bowl of cereal as if it contained all the answers in the universe.

"She was up most of the night," Ren supplied when it was clear no answers would be forthcoming from the girl herself. "Sugar rush."

Yang grimaced and shook her head. "Rough night, huh?"

"I find that ear plugs work wonders," he replied with a smirk. "And I believe Jaune took the brunt of it."

At Yang and Blake's questioning look, Jaune shrugged. "We played games most of the night and then she nearly ripped my arm off wrestling. The usual. She finally crashed around three."

"You don't look tired, though," Blake observed.

"I had a nap yesterday afternoon after hitting the gym. I guess it was lucky I did or I'd look like her right now."

Nora briefly raised her head to shoot him an annoyed look.

"Speaking of the gym," Yang grinned brightly. "You planning on hitting it today? I could use someone to spot me. How about it? Think you can handle it?"

Jaune nodded. "Sure. How about this afternoon?"

"Good with me."

"How about you, Pyrrha? Want to join us?" he asked. He didn't notice Yang's smile falter.

Pyrrha pulled a face and what she said next had Yang perking back up. "I cannot, unfortunately. I'm meeting with some people and my agent to discuss a potential sponsorship deal. I haven't really done anything since coming to Vale so they want to capitalise on the Vytal Festival."

"Right. I think I remember you mentioning something like that."

"So, looks like it's a date then," Yang joked, giving Jaune a half-lidded stare. Blake rolled her eyes and elbowed her, making her whole body jerk. "Hey, what was that for?" she snapped.

The white noise of Ruby and Weiss bickering finally ceased. The heiress looked grumpy, taking a savage bite out of her apple as she sulked. Ruby meanwhile had caught the end of their conversation.

"Who is Yang going on a date with?" she asked, confused.

"No one. Your sister is just being an idiot." Blake answered.

"What was that?" said sister challenged. Now it was the other two members of Team RWBY who started to bicker, though Blake only responded every so often with a well placed barb that had the more rambunctious girl firing back twice as loud. Several other students were shooting her curious glances.

"I'm going to the gym later with Yang," Jaune revealed when Ruby just looked even more confused by the sudden escalation, as if she hadn't just been involved in a similar situation with Weiss.

Confusion morphed into understanding. "Oh. I see."

"What?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nothing. So, are you free after breakfast? Wanna hang out? Ya'know, just us two?"

Jaune blinked. "What, like a leader thing?"

"Sure! Or you know, just two friends hanging out. Doing stuff. It can be leader stuff. And friend stuff," Ruby looked ready to bury her head in the sand, cheeks flushing. "Or we could work on our weapons? Yeah! We should make sure our weapons are in tip top shape for the tournament, right?"

Jaune nodded slowly at her sudden enthusiasm. "Right."

"So we could totally do that," she continued to ramble. "I can show you my baby. I could teach you a lot about her, that'd be fun, right? She can be a little tricky for a single person to work on, even me - and I made her! How much do you know about mecha-shift? Oh, oh - and I can help you with your sword! I can polish it for you. I'm pretty good with this sort of stuff, you know?"

Blake made a strangled choking sound, drawing their attention. She was staring at Ruby with wide eyes, chin covered in porridge.

"Get your head out of the gutter," Yang scolded her teammate. "She's talking about _Crocea Mors_ , Blake - jeez, those books of yours are rotting your brain."

Weiss clucked her tongue, giving the faunus girl an extreme look of distaste. "Blake Belladonna!" She admonished. Pyrrha and Ren looked surprised, staring at Blake with raised brows.

The black haired girl was gracious enough to look embarrassed, but nonetheless defended herself, "It sounded like something else, okay? I-I misunderstood!"

"Uh-huh," Weiss didn't sound convinced. "Maybe you should lay off the literature for the time being."

"Oh, shut up. Like you are any better."

"Just what are you implying, exactly?"

"Watch anything suspect lately?"

Jaune leaned over and whispered in Ruby's ear, "Your team is very - er, energetic, this morning."

Ruby giggled and shied away from him, cheeks red. He was about to ask her what was up when the mystery foot returned, nudging his knee aside. Jaune tensed, sitting ramrod straight as the questing toes lightly rubbed against his inner thigh. He stared across the table but again, Yang was busy refereeing the sudden spat that had erupted between Weiss and Blake. The foot moved back and forth, every so often the toes arching against him, applying a delicious pressure. Jaune felt his body react. He stuffed a mouthful of eggs into his mouth and almost choked, swallowing with some effort.

The rest of breakfast followed much of the same pattern and by the time Ruby had pulled him away, Jaune was in danger of bursting out the front of his pants. Mortified, he trudged along after Ruby with his shoulders hunched, praying that no one would notice anything amiss.

But attempting to hide the evidence of his arousal wasn't the only thing on his mind. He'd just been felt up. Felt up by a girl and her dexterous foot! And it really could have only been one of two girls, as unlikely as that seemed.

Yang or Blake? Blake or Yang? It didn't make any sense.

"You okay?" the younger girl asked as they stopped by the locker rooms to gather their weapons.

Jaune cleared his throat to unstick his tongue. "I'm good."

Ruby eyed him for a moment before smiling, grabbing his wrist to tug him along. Her hand was warm and a little rough, yet still somehow soft. "C'mon, we can work in my room."

Thankfully, Jaune had calmed down by the time he entered team RWBY's dorm. It was uncomfortable enough walking around with his friend while he popped wood but being alone in the same room with her? Talk about awkward.

Ruby rummaged around under Weiss' bed and pulled out a toolbox, filled with all the necessary tools they'd need to work on Crescent Rose. Another venture under the bed revealed a box filled with rags and polish.

Jaune lowered himself to the floor, laying his weapon across his lap and trying not to stare at how Ruby's perky rear swayed side to side as she retrieved her goods. If she had been wearing her school uniform like Weiss, it might have been a very dangerous situation. Thankfully, she was wearing a pair of sweat pants instead that admittedly left little to the imagination.

He quickly averted his eyes when she pulled everything to the center of the room before sitting next to him, shoulder bumping his playfully.

"I don't really know much about this sort of stuff," Jaune admitted.

Ruby didn't look worried. If anything, she looked even more excited. "Here, I'll show you how to take her apart."

Small hands reached for the socket wrench and got to work, deftly dismantling the collapsed form of her fearsome scythe. In a matter of minutes it resembled nothing but a collection of parts, Ruby moving with a swiftness that spoke of hours upon hours of practice.

"See this spring here?" she pointed after removing the casing. "I'll need some help with unhooking it and replacing it. I can do it myself but it is easier with two."

"Right."

Jaune shuffled forward and helped her compress it enough to free it. It took quite a bit of effort and it nearly sprung free of their hold from released tension. Ruby placed it aside.

"I'm going to give it a quick clean and then oil the hinges. Nothing worse than a weapon jamming in the middle of a fight."

Jaune wouldn't know. Even though his sheath morphed into a shield, it had never jammed before.

"Maybe we should have a look at my shield," he suggested as he received the small tin of oil and a rag from Ruby. She then proceeded to give everything a speedy wipe down, removing any dirt or debris. "I've never done any work on it before. I don't even know how to open it."

They worked together quickly, arms occasionally bumping as they completed their task. He realised that the slightly scented oil was the same he occasionally thought he could smell coming from Ruby. A smell unique to her amongst their friends.

"Here," she suddenly said. "Like this."

Her fingers overlapped his own and directed them firmly. Her hands were slightly oily and glided against his skin, an unnatural smoothness that was nonetheless pleasant to feel. Jaune swallowed as they continued like this for a few minutes, to point where they were finished and yet she continued to twine their hands together, almost like she was playing with his fingers. It felt nice.

"Ruby?"

There was no response. He tried again, a little louder.

"Hm?" she leaned against him, face hidden against his shoulder. Her short nails lightly grazed against his knuckles as her hands roamed a little higher. It felt surprisingly sensual and Jaune felt his heart rate pick up as her fingers encircled his wrists.

He wet his lips and said, "I think we're done with this part."

Ruby tensed and leaned back. "Right. Yes. We are," her laugh was a tad high. "N-Normally I'd also clean the barrel but I did that the other day, so we can skip that. We can put everything back together. Can you help me with the spring?"

"Sure."

She wasn't kidding when she said it was difficult to replace. It took much more strength than Jaune thought it would but eventually they were able to compress it enough so it slipped into place. The rest of the weapon snapped into place and Ruby re-bolted it.

Jaune stepped back as it unfurled seamlessly, Ruby beaming proudly at her baby.

"We can polish the blade later. We can work on your sword first."

Jaune unsheathed his blade and placed it on the floor between them before expanding the sheath into a shield.

Ruby suddenly looked timid as she asked, "Can I?"

At his nod, Ruby reached for his sword.

Jaune rubbed his neck, a little embarrassed. The blade was scuffed and covered with a long history of damage, nicks and scratches running the entire length. While it was clean and well cared for, it had seen many years of use - well before he'd ever laid claim to it. Compared to the grandeur of Crescent Rose, Crocea Mors was plain ordinary.

Despite this, Ruby was shuffling in excitement as she inspected it from top to bottom, hands ghosting across the pommel and hilt, fingers running up the flat of the blade, pausing to toy with some of the deeper scratches. Jaune felt his face heat up a little, remembering those same fingers toying with his own.

He wanted to slap his cheeks but settled for clearing his throat.

"It isn't very pretty," he said.

Ruby beamed at him. "It has character. Just think about how many Grimm this sword has slain? The places it has been?" she was practically gushing. "I don't blame her for looking a little tired."

Jaune blinked. "Her?"

Ruby's lips quirked. "Of course! She just needs a makeover. We can't fix these nicks right now but we can still make her pretty. We can do your shield too!"

Ruby opened a new tin of polish after wiping down the blade before she hesitated, eyes darting from Crocea Mors to Jaune, then back again. He was busy inspecting his shield for any potential openings and didn't notice the younger girl rise on unsteady legs. It wasn't until her shadow stretched out across him that he looked up but it was already too late.

Jaune blanched as polish splashed across his front. From his neck down to his lap, the cold liquid quickly seeped through the material to touch his skin.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Ruby said in a very practiced manner. "I'm so clumsy!"

"It's fine," he replied quickly, stumbling to his feet. Lucky for him, he was only wearing old clothes he didn't much care for. "I think I'm going to need another shower, though."

"Here, let me help."

Before he could answer, his shirt was removed in a cascade of rose petals. Stunned, Jaune watched as Ruby reappeared with a wet cloth, her body shaking.

"R-Ruby?" he said after a moment, uncertain.

She stared up at him. Or at least she tried. Her eyes kept darting away, down to his chest and the mess she had made. "I'm really sorry, Jaune. Let me make it up to you."

He wanted to say something, anything. But he couldn't help but think she looked scared. Scared of his reaction.

"I'm not angry," he assured her but she stepped forward all the same.

He jumped lightly as the damp cloth pressed against his skin, though it was warm and not unpleasant. Mouth dry, he remained as still as possible as she slowly wiped down his neck and chest, across his nipple and down further along his stomach, making his abs clench. Each time the cloth compressed against his skin, water would seep out and run down the contours of his body, following the bumps and grooves of his muscles. The look on her face was not unlike the one she wore when taking apart her weapon. The thought that perhaps she was taking him apart in her mind had his blood rushing.

When her hand reached his waistband, he stepped away. It took much more effort than he'd ever admit.

"I-I think I can handle the rest," he choked out. Silver eyes didn't seem so silver anymore, her pupils dilated so much that all he could see was black. "Thanks for cleaning me."

Hastily grabbing his weapon, he dashed across the hall and into his dorm room, Ruby's gaze burning a hole in his back. It wasn't until the door slammed shut behind him that he realised he was still shirtless.

"Thanks for cleaning me?" he repeated incredulously under his breath, feeling all of the awkward idiot he really was. He threw _Crocea Mors_ onto his bed. "What the hell was that?"

"Jaune?"

He nearly screamed and whipped around frantically. He was able to muffle it at the last possible moment so it resembled a sort of choked groan and not the sound of a startled little girl.

"Ren?"

Pink eyes stared at him in confusion.

"Where's your shirt?" he spoke after a moment. Then his eyes moved lower. "...what is that?"

Jaune fought the urge to cover his crotch. There was nothing to be ashamed of!

"I - uh, forgot it."

Ren blinked. "Forgot it?"

"Yeah, it got dirty so I took it off. Ruby spilled polish on me," Jaune shook his head then paused, a thought crossing his mind. "Wait, that isn't important. Ren! I need your help!"

"Help?"

"Yes, help! A lot of help. I - wait, where is _your_ shirt? Wait, where are your _pants_?"

"I was getting changed," Ren explained while standing in nothing but a pair of black briefs. "This is our room," he elaborated at Jaune's blank look.

"Shower?"

"Yeah."

This was starting to feel familiar to the both of them.

"You didn't have one this morning?"

"Nora. She nearly passed out under the spray."

"Right."

They maintained eye contact before Jaune gestured weakly with his hand. "So... I can wait. If you want to, you know - get dressed. I should probably change these pants."

"I imagine so," Ren's mouth quirked in a small smile. "People might talk."

"Oh shut up."

Several minutes later and a set of clean clothes had the pair of them sitting on Jaune's bed.

"So... it's Weiss," Jaune began. Ren arched an eyebrow, looking amused.

"Again?"

"... and Ruby,"

"What?"

"And maybe Yang or Blake, I'm not sure exactly."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Ren was at a total loss for words. Ren wasn't a chatty person by any means but that didn't mean he was rendered speechless very often. He grew up with Nora. He had been conditioned to handle these sorts of situations through experience. Or so he thought. His continued silence made Jaune start to fidget.

"I don't understand," he finally said after too long. "Weiss... and Ruby. And you aren't sure, but maybe Yang or Blake? But you don't know which one?"

Jaune nodded rapidly.

"My friend," Ren said solemnly. "I believe this is beyond me."

"What? But I haven't even said anything yet."

"What I mean is that my experience - or perhaps I should say lack of experience with this sort of thing is more... traditional. Simple."

Jaune shot his friend a look of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Relationships," Ren clarified. "Feelings. I don't - I've never had such things for multiple women before. Clearly my appetites are much tamer than yours."

Blue eyes looked at him in alarm. "I'm not - this isn't about - what are you on?"

Ren tilted his head. "You aren't asking me how to confess to Weiss, Ruby and maybe Blake or Yang, you aren't sure?"

"No!" Jaune shouted. "What gave you that idea!?"

Ren leaned back. "Apologies. I misunderstood. Please, continue."

Jaune spluttered incoherently before calming down with a deep breath. "You are a real joker, aren't you?" When Ren remained silent, he sighed. "Listen, I just need some help - or I guess I was hoping I could ask you something."

"What do you wish to ask?"

"Do you think... they are acting a little weird?"

"Team RWBY?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah. I - I mean, it feels like they are acting... different. But no one else seems to have noticed so I thought maybe it was all in my head."

Ren thought on it for a moment. "I haven't noticed any particular changes in their behaviour."

"You haven't?"

"Maybe a little more hyperactive," Ren admitted. "I believe they are excited for the Vytal Festival."

When Jaune sagged in disappointment, Ren asked, "You think they're acting different?"

"It's just..." he leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "Maybe I'm overreacting but something just feels off. Weiss has been oddly nice lately. N-Not that I think she is mean or anything," he hastened to explain. "But you can't deny that she can be a little cold, right?"

"Right."

"But lately she has been really nice. Talkative. With me. And Ruby - well, she has always been affectionate. But these last few days, I feel like she is even more so. I don't know how to explain it."

"These aren't bad things," Ren observed. "But they trouble you."

"Of course they aren't bad, but you can't say it isn't a change, right? Like Blake - she's been smiling a lot."

"Smiling?" Ren deadpanned.

Jaune gave him a filthy look from where he was laying. "When was the last time you saw Blake smile for no reason? And you can't count the last couple of days."

Ren opened his mouth and then closed it again, conceding the point.

"She is about as reserved as you are and that is saying something," Jaune added.

"Hey," Ren said automatically.

"Like some sort of cool beauty or something from those Mistrali comics. But she's been smiling a lot more lately. As for Yang... well, she doesn't seem that different. I think."

"You think?"

Jaune hesitated. "This morning..."

"This morning?" Ren prompted.

"Someone was rubbing their foot against me."

Ren stared at his teammate. "It may have been an accident."

"It really wasn't," Jaune said, looking a little embarrassed. "Trust me. It really, really wasn't." He coughed, remembering his own reaction to the questing foot. "Yang is a joker but it seemed a little much, even for her. Whoever it was went a little... high."

Even reserved Lie Ren looked a bit flustered. "Oh. And you are sure it was Yang?"

"The only other person it could have been was Blake. And as much as I think it was little unusual for Yang to go so far, I can't even believe Blake would do something like that."

"I see what you mean," Ren rubbed his chin in thought. "So you think Yang was just messing with you."

"I guess," Jaune shrugged from his position. "She certainly likes to tease but she has never gone quite so far before."

Before they could continue, a swift knock drew their attention to the door.

"Hey," the familiar voice of Yang Xiao Long called out. "You in there, Jaune? Ready to hit the gym?"

"Just a minute," he called. "So what do you think?"

"I think that you might not be wrong," Ren said slowly. "But what it means or why? I have no idea."

"Right," Jaune stood and made his way to the door, pausing only to grab a towel. "Thanks for listening, by the way."

"Anytime."

"Ready to pump iron?" Yang asked as he opened the door, giving her arms a playful flex. She was dressed in a pair of her usual black shorts and a tiny orange tank top, though she wore an old zip-up hoodie over the top. Her usual free flowing hair was tied back in a ponytail, a gym bag casually slung over a shoulder.

"Ready," he said jokingly as he closed the door behind him.

"You look it," she said, eyes roving over him. Her eyes lingered on his shorts. "I hope you can keep up. I only have one speed."

It didn't take long for them to reach the gym but when Yang went to make her way over to the weights, Jaune motioned for her to follow. Curious, she watched as he approached a door next to the water cooler and swiped his Scroll across the pad, the light turned from red to green. Jaune held open the door for her.

When she stepped inside, she looked around in surprise. "What is this?"

"The professors use this place to keep in shape, away from prying eyes," he explained as the door shut behind them.

"And you have access why?" she accused, though she was smiling.

"Because of Pyrrha. Um - well, you know how she is pretty famous, right?"

Yang gave him a look. "Duuh."

"Right, well, whenever she would come to work out, the other students would bother her. Nothing serious or anything but it is hard to get anything done when people keep trying to talk to you. So the professors let her use this place and since we are her team..." He laughed. "Perks of being the teammates of Pyrrha Nikos, as much as she would hate to hear me say that."

Yang nodded with a look of understanding. "Suddenly, certain things are starting to make a lot more sense."

"What?"

She gave him a playful smile. "Nothing~ So, how about we get started."

They began by stretching, working through the different parts of their bodies. Every so often, Jaune thought he could feel Yang glancing his way but whenever he'd peek back, she was going about her own business. Like right now, as she bent backwards in a bridge, back arched and shapely breasts thrust out.

Jaune cleared his throat and looked away, missing the little smile Yang wore as she sprung back up.

Finishing up, they moved over to the bench press.

"Spot me?" Yang asked as she covered the bench with her towel.

"Sure."

She stacked several plates onto the bar and secured them before getting into position, laying back and squaring up. The position gave Jaune a very generous view of her cleavage. His eyes feasted before he forced himself to focus, getting into position, arms hovering under the bar.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready."

He followed as she lifted the bar before she brought it down and back up in a picture perfect press. As she continued to pump her arms, he couldn't help but let his mind wander - or rather, his eyes. They traced her well-toned arms and shoulders, and once again were drawn to the low cut of her tank top. He tried not to let his eyes linger too long, moving down along her flat tummy and the flare of her hips. Her top had ridden up a little, showing off her belly button.

"Like what you see?" she asked, voice a little winded. His eyes snapped back to the bar.

"Sorry," he muttered, feeling small.

She gave a couple more reps before he helped guide the bar back into place. She gave a small laugh as she sat up. "Don't worry about it. If I got angry every time someone looked at my tits, I'd be angry all the time."

"Besides," she added as they switched places. "I don't mind you looking if I can look too."

"Ha ha," he fake laughed before laying back. "And what would you be looking at?"

As he lifted the bar, he saw her smirk. "Oh, you know. Places."

Syncing his breathing, he lowered the bar and brought it back up, feeling the weight. It wasn't the heaviest he could go but it was close, his arms feeling the burn as he shifted it up and down, muscles tight.

"Looking good," Yang praised as he continued. "I could just eat you up, you know?"

Jaune wasn't sure if his face was flushed from exertion or from her words. His eyes moved to her face and the look she sported made his arms temporarily waver. Lilac eyes gazed down at him, half-lidded and smoky, her lips quirked in a sexy little grin. Gaining control of his movements, he quickly finished his reps and she helped guide the bar back into the saddles.

Jaune sat up, feeling his skin prickle under the gaze of his current workout partner.

They continued like this for the better part of an hour, switching positions and spotting each other on the bench. When they were finished, they moved onto the free weights and then the leg press. All the while, Jaune couldn't shake the feeling of Yang's eyes searing across him, made all the worse when his own eyes constantly sought her out.

Yang looked good when she worked out. Really good.

"Phew," Yang said as they finished their last exercise. She fanned at her face with her hand, before shifting it lower and giving her cleavage a little air by pulling her top out. "That felt good."

"Yeah," Jaune said a little dumbly, mopping at his face with the hem of his shirt to hide his face. "Yeah," he repeated.

"You look a little hot," Yang observed, "Cmon, lets cool down a little."

"Right."

They moved over to a nearby bench and Yang retrieved a bottle of water from her bag. After taking a generous swig, she handed it to him. The water felt great, his thirst ravenous.

"Thanks," he said, handing it back.

"No problem."

"So do you want to do me first or should I do you?"

Yang paused, bottle at her lips. She started at him in shock.

"Wha-bfffble," she dribbled water all over herself, nearly choking.

"Yang! Are you okay?" he hovered nearby, concerned. She gave a few hacking coughs and waved him off.

"I-I'm good," she said quickly, composure lost. "W-What did you just say?"

Her eyes were still wide as she looked at him.

"Don't you rub down after weight training?" Jaune asked. "Pyrrha said it was important. It sucks when you don't have anyone with you to help out but whenever we work out together, she always makes sure we do it."

"Pyrrha," Yang repeated. "Oh, right. Pyrrha. Ha. Wow, there is more to little miss champion than I thought." She looked impressed.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. She's right. We should totally rub down. She isn't a championship fighter for nothing, ya know? She knows her stuff," Yang nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'd never doubt Pyrrha when it comes to this sort of thing." She was rambling. Now more than ever, Jaune thought she sounded a bit like her sister. Perhaps deep down, they were much more alike, after all. "Right. um - you can do me first. Rub me. Right! Where do you want me?"

Jaune blinked. "Uh, here is fine. Lets lay a towel down."

Yang lowered herself down, laying on her front and exposing her defenseless back. She twitched as his hands palmed her shoulders, his thumb and fingers digging into her flesh firmly. A visible shiver traveled down her body and she had to bite her lip to muffle her contented hum. She was largely unsuccessful.

"That feels good," she sighed. "You do this for Pyrrha every time?"

"Yeah," Jaune cleared his throat when a particularly firm press drew forth a low moan.

"Lucky. A girl could get used to this," Yang shot him a look over her shoulder that sent a bolt of heat straight down into his groin.

Jaune slowly worked his way along her strong arms and then down her back, pausing whenever her appreciative sounds become a little distracting. He tried to focus on what he was doing and not the sounds she was making. The way her soft body moulded to his hands when he pressed and grasped, the little strip of skin between her tank top and shorts, the toned, firm muscles of her thighs and calves.

Perhaps her sounds were the least of his concerns.

He cupped either side of her left leg, his fingers inching up as he kneaded her thigh, the blonde girl squirming in delight. His knuckles were dangerously close to bumping against her in a very bad way, so he hastily retreated as she gave a breathy giggle.

He repeated the process on her other leg, his hands gliding against her damp, smooth skin, the warmth of her body leeching into his palms. He swallowed thickly as he moved back up to her torso, trying to ignore the way her hips shifted as if to follow his touch. He felt the subtle dips of her ribs as she stretched beneath him, a small, breathy laugh escaping her lips once again.

"I'm ticklish," she admitted when he paused. He couldn't help but admire the way his hands spanned the width of her back, looking large and powerful against her body, his fingers curling around her sides. She gave a little shake to get his hands moving again.

"Mm," she hummed as he pulled away a few minutes later, a lazy smile gracing her features. "My turn to touch?"

"I really wish you wouldn't say it like that."

Her contagious laughter filled the room. They switched positions, Jaune feeling much more nervous than usual. Pyrrha did this with him all the time. Sure, it could get a little awkward when his imagination got away from him, but he knew deep down that there was nothing else going on. It was just part of their routine. Keeping your body healthy and in fighting condition was an important part of being a Huntsman. He was just feeling a little different because he had never done it with anyone outside his team before.

His skin prickled as he felt Yang lean over him, her scent engulfing him as her hands settled on his shoulders. Something soft and warm settled on his behind and to his shock, he realised the pleasant weight was Yang herself. She had straddled him, her thighs bracketing his hips.

"Uh," he said. "Uh..."

"This is much more comfortable, wouldn't you agree?" she whispered in his ear. Her long golden hair fell around them in an unruly curtain. Jaune turned his head to gaze back at her, heart thudding at how close her face was.

"Um," he didn't get much further than that before her hands started to move, digging in and flexing, traveling down his arms, rubbing at his biceps and forearms. Her hands were smooth and strong, containing a power he knew could shatter stone, but her touch was feather soft at times, almost caressing. Worshipping.

"Mm, very nice," she leaned further forward and Jaune swore his heart stopped, her pelvis rocking against his as her breasts pressed into his back. She was so soft and warm. "You're so built. So firm and hard. All for me?"

His brain turned to mush at her provocative words. And he nearly poked a hole straight through the wood of the bench, making her right in more ways than one.

"Lets get rid of this shirt, it's in the way."

Jaune did nothing as she pulled at the hem of his shirt, swiftly pulling it up and over his head even at the awkward angle.

"Oh," she cooed sweetly in a voice he'd never heard from the girl before. "Much better."

She started low, kneading and tracing the lines of his back with an enthusiasm that left him breathless. Her fingers found every little dip and crease, sweeping across every plain and ridge. He nearly leapt out of his skin as they quested further around, ghosting over his obliques, her body shifting against him oh so nicely. Hot air blew against the back his neck raggedly.

"Look at you," she whispered hotly. "So sturdy and strong. Do you have any idea what you do to us?"

"W-What?"

"Do you?" she demanded. Her voice held a tinge of desperation. "Looking like this and hiding it under that hoodie of yours? Right in plain sight and none of us had a clue - but we do now~"

"Yang?" he questioned, feeling worried. His eyes widened when he felt her lips brush tenderly against his shoulder, her breathing uneven. "Y-Yang?"

"I'm going to rub you down until you can't take it anymore and then I'm going to take my time eating you up," she said, punctuating her words with a little hip shake. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Miss Xiao Long," a strict voice boomed. Jaune flinched as Yang bucked upright so fast she flipped off the bench and onto the floor, a muffled 'ow' barely audible over the sound of his rapid heartbeat pounding in his ears. "This is a facility to train and improve ones body, not scratch an itch, do I make _myself_ clear?"

Jaune scrambled to his feet, looking absolutely horrified at the sight of a furious Glynda Goodwitch standing in the doorway. Other students had been attracted by the professors shouting but before they could get in a peek, she slammed the door behind her, locking them inside with her.

"Jaune Arc!" she barked.

"M-Ma'am!"

Piercing green eyes locked him to the spot. "When we allowed your team to use this room, we were not giving you permission to bring your girlfriends here so you could act out your fantasies."

Jaune spluttered. "It wasn't - we weren't! We-and we aren't! We were just working out, miss!"

"That didn't look like working out to me, young man," she glared at him, daring him to deny it. His eyes followed the way her riding crop tapped against her leg and kept his mouth shut. "If I catch you using this place for anything other than its designed purpose again, a detention will be the least of your worries. Do I make _myself_ clear?"

He really wished she'd stop using that line.

"Crystal," he forced out.

"Miss Xiao Long, get up off the floor. Now."

Yang shot up, standing ramrod straight. Her face was flushed scarlet, making her look feverish.

"The same goes for you. I'm sure your father would be impressed to find out what you are getting up to here, yes?"

Yang looked sick at the very thought, the colour draining from her face.

"I didn't think so. Now get out. And Mr Arc, put a shirt on for goodness sake."

Jaune found his shirt in record time, pulling it over his head. Yang gathered all her things and was out the door before he could get a word in, leaving him to give chase. He brushed past the gathered students who looked a little shocked and tried to keep her in sight, but he soon lost her. She was moving too fast.

He trudged back to the dormitory under a cloud of confusion.

"What the hell was that?" Jaune asked himself, standing alone in the hallway outside his shared room. He rubbed his face tiredly and hunched against the door. "God, that was so embarrassing."

"Jaune?"

Blake Belladonna looked at him curiously from across the hall.

"Are you okay?" she gave him a worried once over.

"Oh, Blake," he said in surprise, straightening up. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's just been... a strange day." He gave a laugh that sounded a tad hysterical. "A really strange day. You ever just have one of those days where everything seems completely out of whack?"

"Once or twice," she said with a little smile.

"It hasn't been bad," he felt the need to clarify for some reason. "Just... different. Weird." He blinked at the folded cloth she had hugged to her chest. It looked familiar. "Is that my shirt?"

"Ruby said you left it behind, earlier," she moved forward, holding it out primly for him to take.

"Uh, about that," he said quickly but she cut him off with a snigger.

"It's fine. She said she spilled some polish on you while you two worked on your weapons. We gave it a wash but sorry to say, we couldn't remove the stain," she looked apologetic, her eyebrows scrunched cutely.

"Oh, right. Uh, thanks. And tell Ruby it's fine. It was an old shirt. I don't want her to blame herself."

"You know Ruby. She already does."

"Drat."

They shared an amused chuckle.

"She wanted to know if you are free tonight," Blake continued. "Team JNPR, that is. With the festival only a couple days away, she thought that maybe we could have some sort of celebration movie night since we are going to be so busy soon."

Jaune nodded. "That sounds... really great, actually." A movie night. After the day he'd had, he thought that was the best idea he'd ever heard. "I'm keen. I'm sure the others will be too."

"I'll let her know. Do you like any movies in particular?"

Jaune shrugged. "Anything is fine with me."

Blake quirked an eyebrow. "Don't blame me when Yang picks a chick flick, then."

Jaune did his best not to react to her partners name. The last thing he needed was anyone else finding out about what had just transpired in the gym, though he was sure the student rumor mill was in a full overdrive right now because of Professor Goodwitch shouting. "Hey, you know me. Chick flicks are my sort of thing. Haha."

With a snort, Blake opened her door and stepped through, though not before shooting him a look over her shoulder, "See you later."

"Yeah," he replied as the door closed. He felt a smile tugging at his lips. "See you."

"Jauney!" Nora called out happily as he stepped into their room.

"Hey Nora. You're looking more energetic."

"Oh shoosh up," she pouted. "Where have you been? I've been bored all day and this lot aren't helping," she cocked her head at Ren and Pyrrha.

"Oh hey," Jaune smiled at his partner. "You're back. Everything go well?"

Pyrrha gave him an exhausted smile. "I believe things went well. They want me to promote some new equipment but I wanted to test it out before committing to anything, so I spent most of the day working out, believe it or not."

"You just shower?" he said, eying her damp hair.

She nodded.

"I was with Yang," he answered Nora. "We hit the gym. You'd have known that if you could keep your eyes open this morning."

She poked her tongue out at him childishly. He laughed.

"I better have a shower myself-"

"Yeah, I can smell you from here. You reek."

Jaune grimaced. "-gee, thanks, Nora. Oh, by the way, Ruby wants to know if we want to watch some movies tonight. I said I was down. How about it?"

"I'm in," Ren said.

Nora beamed. "Aww yeah."

"That sounds lovely," Pyrrha chimed in.

After a quick shower - how many times had he cleaned off today? He felt like he'd spent way too much time showering and changing clothes - the four made their way down to the cafeteria for an early dinner. While they ate, Jaune received a message from Ruby, letting him know when to meet them in the common area and to bring some goodies.

The vending machines on the south side of campus had the best stuff, so after finishing his food, he made a quick circuit of the lecture hall, collecting as many sugary treats and cans of drink that he could carry. Arms laden with treasure, he trudged back to the dormitory and nearly collided with Blake outside the common room, whose arms were equally as full with packets of crisps, chocolate bars and other assorted goods. She was dressed for sleep in a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top.

"You too, huh?" he joked as he opened the door with his hip by pressing his pocket to the locking mechanism, his Scroll unlocking the door even from inside his shorts.

"I picked the movie, so they made me gather the goods," she explained, giving an exaggerated eye roll. The pair dumped everything on the floor in front of the big screen television.

"What did you pick?" Jaune asked, curious. He watched as Blake pulled over a large beanbag chair and positioned it to her liking, before they both started arranging the other furniture. It looked like they had the place to themselves tonight.

"Horror."

Jaune laughed.

"Nora _hates_ horror movies," he explained at her searching look. "She gets spooked easy, if you can believe it. Ren is going to have his hands full."

"The girl who rides around on Grimm gets spooked?" Blake looked unconvinced.

She lowered herself down onto the beanbag chair and lightly patted the space next to her, giving him a smile. "Sit with me? There is more than enough room."

Jaune gave the chair a quick once over. While it was large, they would still be hip to hip, especially when it sagged and conformed under their combined weight.

Blake gave him an amused look. "I don't bite, you know."

Giving a short laugh, he lowered himself down beside her. As expected, they were practically flush against each other, thigh to thigh. Jaune shifted to get comfortable which didn't take long at all. It was a comfortable chair.

"Hey guys - hey, no fair!" Ruby crowed as she entered with arms full of blankets. "I wanted that chair."

"First in," Jaune teased, causing her to pout. The rest followed suit, carrying pillows and blankets of their own. Pyrrha paused at the sight of them sitting together before moving on, Weiss giving them a disinterested glance at total odds with the way her smile vanished. Yang was the last one to enter, steadfast looking everywhere but Jaune, her posture tense as she crossed to the couch and buried herself under her own blanket, hiding her face from view.

"We heard Professor Goodwitch chewed you two out. Yang was pretty upset when she came back," Blake admitted quietly, her eyes following his own. "What happened?"

Jaune hummed nervously. "I think I'll let Yang explain. When she is ready. If she is ready."

The faunus quirked an eyebrow. "Now you've got me really curious."

He almost said something about cats and curiosity but before he could reply, Nora came barreling over the back of their chair and into their laps. Blake squawked in alarm and flailed as if under attack.

"I heard you picked the movie," Nora said, nearly nose to nose with Blake. The black haired girl flinched away and leaned back as far as possible.

"Uh,"

"You like scary things, huh?" she pressed forward, following her retreat.

"Nora," Jaune sighed.

"Hush, Jaune," she waved in his face. "Us girls are having a conversation."

"My leg is going numb," he explained.

"Deal with it."

"Nora," Ren plucked the girl out of their laps. "Leave her alone."

"I'll remember this!" the ginger girl vowed as she was dragged away. Even when she was deposited on her own couch, she continued to glare at Blake without blinking, big aqua eyes straining as they started to sting and fill with tears.

"You really weren't kidding," Blake said after a moment.

"Told ya."

"Here you go," Ruby dumped a blanket on them.

Jaune blinked up at his friend. "What sort of horror movie is it?"

"Vampires," she said simply, giving a little grin. "Blake really likes this sort of thing."

"What's wrong with that?" said girl muttered a little defensively. "I won the straw game fair and square."

"Nothing, nothing - don't you think it's totally her, though? All dark and mysterious and-and dark!"

"You said that already," Blake groused. "And I don't just like dark things because they are dark! The nature of a vampire can be very interesting - the duality of their existence! Their more human side and emotions clashing with the side that wishes to feed. Their very prey including their loved ones! They aren't always portrayed this way but when they are, I feel like it adds a lot of impact!"

Ruby had a look of realisation. "Oh, like that book you were reading - the man with two souls, right?"

"Right!"

"What about the naughty neck sucking, though? They usually have that," Ruby added as an afterthought, cupping her chin. "Is this a naughty movie, Blake?"

"Ruby!"

The younger girl laughed as Blake tried to kick her, Ruby dancing away from them with an impish smile. Jaune chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Blake said petulantly.

"Ruby seems to be having fun."

"Sure. Having fun being a brat."

"Get your goodies!" Ruby called as she handed out confections. "I've got crisps, fruit juice, soda, popcorn, jelly babies, chocolate-"

"I'll have some chocolate, thank you," Weiss said primly.

"Chocolate for the sweet tooth!" the younger girl said as she tossed several bars at her partner. The white haired heiress glowered as she was forced to juggle the bounty before they hit her in the face.

"My tooth is not sweet, it is regular, thank you very much."

Nora must have grown bored with glaring a hole in Blake, as she chose that moment to laugh at Weiss, causing a ruckus that forced Ren to take action.

"Our teams are insane," Blake observed.

"What does that say about us? Oh - Ruby, can I have some of the caramel popcorn."

The small bag bounced off his forehead.

After everyone received their share, Ruby set up the movie and dimmed the lights. Blake shuffled as she maneuvered the blanket across the pair of them and they settled in.

Jaune wouldn't say the horror genre was one of his favourites but growing up he had seen a lot of it. His sisters enjoyed it to the point that when they would gather weekly to watch something, it was often either horror or click flicks. An odd combination but something Jaune had been forced to endure. He had only been allowed to pick once and never again. His sisters weren't big fans of Spruce Willis, go figure. It meant that he was pretty good at picking out when a jump scare was coming and right on queue, he muffled a laugh as Nora yelped as red eyes and a pair of sharp fangs shot across the screen alongside a sudden change in music.

Made even funnier when Weiss hissed at her to be quiet.

The movie was better than expected. Perhaps that was why it took so long for him to notice something amiss. A subtle shift here, a small rub there. Smooth, supple legs glided against his own, a gentle weight resting against his shoulder. Jaune paused in chewing his popcorn as Blake nuzzled against him, her bow tickling his neck and cheek. She was curled up against him, one of her legs thrown across his own, her bare foot idly tracing up and down against the inside of his calf. Each time her leg rose, her thigh and knee came dangerously close to bumping him somewhere that was rapidly starting to react.

Swallowing his mouthful, he cleared his throat softly. One of his arms was pinned between them and when he tried to extract it, she let it go, only for Jaune to realise he had no where to put it.

Or rather, only one place.

She helped him along, taking his hand and pulling his arm around her shoulders. She placed his hand against her hip before burrowing even deeper against him.

"Blake?" he whispered softly.

Her nose nudged against his neck and he felt her inhale sharply.

"Blake!?" he whispered again, urgently.

One of her hands quested across his stomach, giving his hip a squeeze before darting under the hem of his shirt. Jaune tensed as her impossibly soft palm and long, delicate fingers playfully toyed with his abs, her long nails leaving trails of sensation across his skin. The hand rose higher to his chest, cupped over his rapidly beating heart.

"Do you like this?" she asked in a breathy whisper.

"I-"

"Did you like it, this morning?" she continued, soft lips ghosting against his jugular. Jaune stared at the screen, unseeing. "When I rubbed you under the table?"

So it was Blake. After what had happened in the gym earlier, Jaune had thought for sure it had been Yang.

"That was you?"

She nodded almost shyly, at total odds with what she was doing to him.

"I had to touch you," she admitted. "But Ruby and Weiss had you surrounded."

"Why did you have to-" A sudden scream from Nora covered his own exclamation as her mouth pressed against him in what was undeniably a kiss. Jaune felt his face flush.

He tried to focus. On the movie. On anything but the soft press of her moist lips as she continued to lay kisses against his neck, feather light caresses that had his blood rushing. Her leg had curled further around his own until the girl was outright straddling his leg, the heat of her pressed against him like a brand. In this position, he couldn't hide his reaction to her, jutting against her belly as his arm encircled her, pressing her even closer.

Someone was talking. Ruby, maybe? Yang? He wasn't sure. All he could hear was his own breathing as he felt the girl against him writhe, hips shifting, her firm breasts against his own chest. She was sucking on his neck now, the soft kisses no longer satisfying.

"What are you-?" Jaune tried, dazed.

What are you doing, he was going to ask. This was too much. Weiss and Ruby, then Yang - that had been bad enough. He'd thought that was the worst of it. But how was he supposed to resist this? Did he even want to? But they barely spoke. Of all his friends, he interacted with Blake the least. What was even going on? Jaune just simply didn't know.

"Why are you-?"

Why are you doing this? The words were almost out when his body jerked, eyes wide.

"What was that?" he hissed under his breath.

It had felt rough. A brief sting as her tongue swiped across his skin. Blake continued to suckle at him, the wet smacks obscenely loud to his ears even over the sound of the movie.

It happened again.

Jaune felt his mouth go dry.

Blake was a cat faunus.

A cat faunus.

Cat.

"No way," he said stupidly. "No way."

Another swipe, more stinging. What was once pleasurable was starting to become a little uncomfortable. A little like sand paper repeatedly dragged against a single spot. Jaune flinched as it happened again and again, and was about to pull her away when all of a sudden, the lights snapped on.

The sudden brightness robbed him of sight but there was no way he could miss the cries of alarm, nor the way Blake was suddenly ripped from him like an old band aid.

Jaune blinked rapidly.

"You sneaky little cat," Yang had Blake by the scruff of her neck, holding the girl aloft as she flailed. "Or should I call you a vampire? You sure did a number on him."

"Jaune," Pyrrha exclaimed. "You're bleeding!"

"What?" he stared at his partner in confusion. "I am?"

He touched his neck and his fingers came away wet. It wasn't much. A little blood mixed in with her saliva, but she had definitely broke skin.

Because her tongue. She was a cat faunus.

Jaune still couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"Just what is going on here?" Weiss demanded with arms crossed.

"Blake was necking Jaune," Ruby supplied unhelpfully.

Nora whistled. "Look at that hickey!"

Jaune couldn't help but notice they all looked disgruntled at this fact.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Yang asked her partner, who finally shook free and backed away like a cornered animal.

"What about you?" Blake fired back, face flushed and breath short. Her eyes were still a little hazy but her voice was strong. "Maybe I should ask Goodwitch?"

Yang grit her teeth.

"Utterly disgraceful," Weiss declared, stepping between the two. "Have you two not heard of self control? I expect better from my teammates."

"Didn't you buy the locker next to Jaune's so you could watch him dress?" Ruby stunned the room.

"I-How-" Weiss spluttered, looking uncharacteristically flustered. "I would never, ever stoop so low-"

"I saw you paying them off and then moving your things," Ruby continued. "I was confused at first but why else would you do it?"

Weiss gaped at her partner soundlessly before gathering herself.

"And what about you?"

"What about me?" Ruby said innocently.

"So Jaune just left his shirt in our room for no reason?"

Ruby's cheeks darkened.

"It got messy!" she defended herself.

"Oh, I'm sure. Very messy." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Not like that!"

"Silence!"

The four bickering girls froze, staring at Pyrrha in alarm. Ren, Nora and Jaune also looked at their teammate in surprise, not having heard her raise her voice like that before. The red haired girl glared at them all, the threat clear. She looked every bit the Invincible Girl, even if she was wearing Pumpkin Pete sponsored pajamas.

"Now," she said calmly. False calm. "Just what is going on here?"

In the end, it was Blake who broke first.

The whole story came pouring out, about the videos and their investigation into the identity of the mystery man, discovering it was Jaune of all people and just how they found this out, and what they planned to do about it.

As the words flowed, Nora's face drained of all colour while Jaune's blazed scarlet. The normally rambunctious girl looked timid and ready to bolt. Jaune stared at her mortified, then at the four girls of Team RWBY. He covered his eyes, unable to look at them as they talked about wanting to 'get to know him better'.

"J-Jaune," Nora stuttered. Ren placed a hand on her shoulder and she sagged.

Jaune removed his hands. "You said you only did it one time - one time!"

"You knew?" Pyrrha asked, her face expressionless.

"I caught her once," he admitted, shaken. "She said it was the only time - spur of the moment. Remember when Nora broke our door? It was then. I tried to take her Scroll but she knocked the door down in her escape. I was angry at first. But a few days later, we talked it over, she swore to keep it to herself!"

Pyrrha pinned him with a stern look. "You let her keep it?"

For some reason, he got the feeling she was disappointed in him. "I-I mean, it was sort of... you know, flattering?" he said awkwardly. "No one had ever taken an interest in me like that before."

Pyrrha stared at him blankly.

"And I didn't know about the rest! Just how many videos are there?"

He directed this at RWBY, who shared an awkward look between themselves before Ruby said, "Over twenty."

He didn't know what to say to that. What was there to say?

"And everyone at Beacon had access to them?"

Ruby nodded slowly.

"They haven't worked out who it was, though," Ruby quickly said at his stricken look. "I swear - I mean the only reason we found out was by accident. We-" Ruby's face twisted in remorse. "Jaune, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad."

She looked ready to cry. He took a step forward-

"Where do you think you're going?"

Pyrrha's voice cracked like a whip. Jaune paused in alarm, thinking she was talking to him. It quickly became apparent that he wasn't the focus of her ire.

"Uh," Nora said meekly, almost at the door. "Well..." her eyes darted around the room, before she turned tail. "Every woman for herself!"

She barely made it a couple of steps before Pyrrha was on her, the champion fighter grappling the smaller girl and riding her to the floor in a whirl of limbs, locking in a picture perfect arm bar.

"Noooo!" Nora howled, bucking and twisting to no avail as her arm was stretched out. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Let go let go let go-"

"You should have thought of that before!" Pyrrha yelled, legs pinning her victim to the floor. "Repent!"

"I repent! I repent!"

Team RWBY wavered, unsure. Ren noticed their distress.

"Don't worry," he assured them. "If Pyrrha was actually trying to hurt her, she'd have broken her arm by now."

It was a small comfort as Nora continued to thrash around, attempting to escape the hold to little success. While everyone was distracted, Jaune slipped out into the hallway.

Leaning his head against the wall, he took a deep breath.

"What a day," he muttered tiredly. Embarrassment didn't even begin to cover it. And not just that, but other emotions as well. Not all of them bad.

His fingers touched his tender neck.

"Heh. A girl gave me a hickey," he chuckled in disbelief before squawking in surprise as something rapped him smartly on the ass. Spinning around, he met a pair of coy green eyes.

"Uh, hello?" he asked, uncertain. She was short, even shorter than Weiss and Nora, her black hair pulled into twintails. And she was pretty. Really pretty. He thought he might have seen her around once or twice, but couldn't place her. Definitely not in his classes. "Can I help you?"

She smirked at him.

.

.

.

 **AN: End?**

 **So I actually had the Weiss portion of this chapter complete a few days after I posted the first chapter but then stalled a little bit. After that, World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth came out and my attention was stolen for the next few months. Whoops.**

 **I hope it was enjoyable and made some of you laugh. I've never written anything like this before and kind of just let it take me where it wanted to go. My writing still feels a little off but I'm better off for writing it. Is this really the end? Most probably. But I do have some ideas for it if I ever decide to add another chapter. But I'll probably try something else first.**


End file.
